In Loving Memory of My Grandma Pat

Patricia “Pat or Patsy” Arlene Flory was called, by our Heavenly Father, to enter the gates of heaven on December 12, 2016 at the age of 87 in Richland, Washington at Kadlec Medical Center. Pat passed peacefully, surrounded in spirit by the love, admiration & respect of her family, into the waiting arms of Jesus.

Pat was born on June 5, 1929 in Salina, Kansas to Hazel & Howard Allen Flaherty. She grew up in California with her beloved sister & best friend, Bonnie Jo & her brother Howard. They moved to San Bernardino, CA in 1930 & in 1939 the family’s combined to save on expenses in San Diego. Pat graduated from San Diego high school in 1947 & then moved to Cashmere to rejoin the family that had moved earlier that year allowing her to complete her senior year. Pat moved with her sister Bonnie Jo to Spokane & then on to Richland in 1950 where they both worked for GE as secretaries, it was here they both met their future husbands. Pat would tell the story of the first time she saw Bill, a dashingly handsome young man who winked at her. From then on she would make up reasons to have to walk back near the safe just to catch a glimpse. Bill tells the story of this stunning beauty that caught his eye & took his breath away. One day he summoned the courage to wink at her & she smiled, with that encouragement he kept winking every day. Pat was swept off her feet by William “Bill” Flory. They were married on January 7, 1951 at the Methodist Church in Grandview, Washington.

As a young woman, Pat spent time at the Mixer Restaurant with her many friends, enjoying music & playing pool on the pool tables in the back of the restaurant. She once invited Bill to play tennis & when he informed her that he did not know how to play tennis she agreed to teach him how to play if he would teach her how to drive. Driving was one of her least favorite things to do & when her youngest daughter, Cindy, learned to drive she was not known to drive again. Pat loved to dance. She would dance even when she walked anytime & anywhere to her favorite tunes. 

Pat wanted a pen pal and after World War II she established one with Edith Pflaum in Germany in 1954. They officially met for the first time after 47 years of correspondence at the celebration of Pat & Bills 50^th wedding anniversary celebration. Pat & Edith maintained this global friendship on a monthly basis for 63 years.

Pat is well known in the family for her feisty Irish temperament and has a knack for penning some “strongly worded letters” when she so deemed to be appropriate. However, one of the greatest gifts she gave was the frequent letters & cards she wrote to friends & family marking every meaningful event in their life, in addition to her typical communication of a dozen letters a day. She even keeps a copy of every letter she sends, in order to have the ability to reflect back on questions she asked or things she shared until she hears back from the recipient. She has also written the newsletter for the Rattlesnake Mountain Ward for the last forty-one years staying connected to her church family.

She loved to cook & bake. It is a fact that everyone looked forward to being surprised with the gift of her famous cinnamon rolls or brownies. It will forever remain a fact that she made the very best tuna sandwiches & milkshakes that you could ever have. Her secret recipe I believe was the love she put into all things she did.

Her regal grace resounded throughout all her life where she carried herself with such poise and sincerity. Pat came from a family of strong women. As the matriarch of her family her legacy continues within the long line of strong & powerful women & men she has left with her passing. Her commitment to family, tradition and her Heavenly father will remain most evident in the lives of the family and friends that carry the precious memories of the inexplicable blessing of this amazing woman. Her spirit & love has had a deep impact on so many lives, even beyond her own family. I find that in many ways we implement so many of her qualities into our own lives and families that without her influence we would otherwise be forever missing something without coming into touch with her beautiful character.

Tradition was important to Pat and she never missed an opportunity to share in the victories or losses of those she loved.  Every family member has always received her phone call on a yearly basis for their birthday, where she would serenade us with the Happy Birthday Song joined by her ever faithful spouse Bill. She has written a Christmas letter without fail in poetry blending her rhythms to share the stories of each family member that grew with every additional blessed birth. She passed the baton of this treasured tradition to her granddaughter, Jessica, in 2014.

Pat embodied the love of her Heavenly Father in every aspect of her life and interaction with all who she came in contact with & the sun truly seems a tad dimmer without her smile, laugh and fancy dancing feet to brighten our days.

Pat is greeted at Heaven’s gate by her Heavenly Father & those who have gone before her. Her grandma Ella, her mother & father, Hazel & Al Flaherty, her son Bruce Flory, her sister & best friend Bonnie Jo, Brother Howard & her great granddaughter Jasmine Rochelle.

Her life will be celebrated & remembered by those she has left behind. Her husband of almost 66 years William “Bill” Flory & her children and their spouses: Eldest daughter, Connie Jo & Bob Widmann, son Brent & Penny Flory, daughter Cindy & Willie Lenz, honorary adopted daughter Deanna & Brian Gormley, Honorary daughter Debbie & Mike Curtis, Honorary son Bob & Liberty Underwood. She will always be honored and celebrated by the lives of her 21 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren & her 1 great-great grandson. Her strength grace and beauty is embodied in the lives and hearts of all 72 of her family members who would never have been complete or possible without the 20 winks and smiles exchanged in 1950 between her and her husband Bill. To have known, loved & been loved by Pat or Patsy , a true daughter of God full of regal elegance & enchanting grace, is to have been blessed with a truly special gift that will never be forgotten.

Her Viewing and Funeral Service will be held in Prosser at the Church of Latter Day Saints on Saturday December 17^th with the viewing at nine thirty and the funeral at ten o’clock. Dinner will be served following the Funeral & Graveside services. The Graveside Service, for the family, will be held in Richland at Sunset Gardens immediately following the Funeral.

We wish to invite those who are able to please write a note, share a memory, or make any contributions and bring to the Funeral Service where it may be left in a basket at the memory table. There will be a Memorial Book available at the service to write a note or share a memory to be treasured by her family in a complied memoir celebrating her life.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers any contributions that are wished to be made to offset any unforeseen additional expenses be directed to an account they have set up at the US Bank for Patricia Flory Memorial Fund.

Dedicated to my Grandma Patricia Flory

By her Eldest Grandchild: Sarah Rosal