July 16, 1913-November 6, 2006

Florence Elizabeth Anderson, a Crookston native and long- time resident, passed away Monday, November 6, 2006 in Grapevine, Texas. Anderson was born, married and educated in Crookston and lived there until she and her husband Lloyd moved in retirement to Sarasota, Florida.

The Mass of Christian Burial for Florence E. Anderson is scheduled for 2 p.m., Monday, November 13, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Crookston and will be preceded by a visitation from noon to 2 p.m. at the church. A graveside service will immediately follow the funeral mass at Calvary Cemetery in Crookston.

Florence Elizabeth Fortier was born on July 16, 1913 in Crookston to Canadian-born Remi Fortier Jr. and Corena Amiot Fortier. Florence was one of eight children in the French-speaking Fortier family and was the last surviving child of Remi and Corena.

In Crookston, Florence attended school at St. Joseph's Academy.
In her early 20s, Florence met her future husband, Lloyd, at a dance. Lloyd, the manager of a Crookston service station named Paddy and Paul's, converted to Catholicism in order to be able to marry Florence and on June 26, 1935, the couple were married in the parsonage of St. Anne's Church in Crookston. The two were parishioners at St. Anne's until their retirement in the early 1970s. Florence was also a charter member of the Catholic Daughters of America and the St. Joseph's Club.

Lloyd later went on to become an agent with the StateFarm Insurance Agency, where he was regularly rewarded for excellent sales, winning trips to many State Farm conventions across the nation. It was on one of those trips - to Sarasota - that the couple fell in love with Florida and ultimately retired there in 1973. In Crookston, Florence was employed in retail at Munn's Jewelry Store, the S & L Clothing Store and, briefly, at Ben Franklin.

The Andersons' only child, son Dennis Keith Anderson, was born on June 25, 1941. Together with Denny, the couple enjoyed the outdoors and were avid hunters and anglers, making frequent camping trips across northern Minnesota, including trips to Red Lake. In the late 40s, they built a lake home on Maple Lake in Mentor and continued to spend a great deal of time there, fishing, waterskiing and entertaining.

The couple particularly enjoyed inviting friends and relatives to their lake home, where couples could expect a happy hour, exotic hors d'oeuvres, and a constant stream of new recipes prepared by Florence - as well as the possibility of dancing in a ballroom the couple had built on to the lake home.

Both Lloyd and Florence enjoyed square dancing and - in retirement - Florence became an accomplished ballroom dancer. The two also loved golfing, and Florence held the quite unique distinction of sinking two holes-in-one during her golf career. In retirement, Florence was a member of the Oakwood Manor water ballet demonstration team and took French classes to relearn the language she spoke fluently in her youth.

Lloyd and Florence's son, Dennis, a Cathedral High School graduate, attended the University of Minnesota, where he enrolled in ROTC. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he achieved the rank of captain. His parents were devastated when, tragically, he was killed in Vietnam on May 15, 1968.

In July of 1973, the couple purchased a home at Sarasota's Oakwood Manor retirement community, but continued to spend summers at Maple Lake until their permanent move to Florida in 1976. Sadly, Lloyd passed away just five years later. Florence decided to stay in Sarasota, however, and lived there another 30 years. In the meantime, she remained active, volunteering with toddlers at a local hospital and continuing to ballroom dance. She enjoyed a devoted 10-year relationship with one of her dance partners, Bill Nuss, who passed away in 2005.

It was only then - in October 2005 - that Florence reluctantly left her 30-year home in Sarasota and moved to The Atria assisted living community in Grapevine, Texas, near the home of her grandson, Steve and his family. In July 2006, she moved to the Lone Star Senior Care skilled nursing facility, where she lived until her death.

Florence was preceded in death by her son, Dennis; husband, Lloyd; brothers, Andrew (June) Fortier, Lawrence (Gloria) Fortier, and Louis (Edna) Fortier; sisters Agnes "Aggie" (Ben)Rohrer, Irene (Aaron) Hanson, Madelyn (Henry) Elenbaas, and Marie Jean (Hermann) Ricord.

Florence is survived by her two grandsons, Robert (Julie), Elk River, Minnesota, and Steven (Suellen), Euless, Texas; three great-granddaughters, Trisha, Danielle, and Lauren; her sisters-in-law, June (Andrew) Fortier and Gloria (Lawrence) Fortier; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Rehkamp-Horvath Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.