After attending Mennonite Collegiate Institute, Gretna, Man., Florence entered the nursing program at St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg. Her colleagues became lifelong friends. During training, she contracted tuberculosis, enduring a year in the sanatorium and loss of lung function. Florence never let this limit her: she had a full, active life of hiking, mountain climbing, skiing, skating and daily morning walks – even in her last 6 months when she had to carry her own oxygen. After Florence put John through medical school, they became the surgical team in charge of Gungu General Hospital, DR Congo, 1961–63. They served Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre, Moshi, Tanzania, and the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Mama Yemo Hospital, Kinshasha, DR Congo. Florence loved to tell about their camping safaris. They moved to Minnesota in 1974; Spokane, Wash., in 1980; Calgary in 1982; and Cranbrook, B.C., in 1987. Florence enjoyed crocheting, knitting, hiking, singing in choirs and acting: she played a witch in Macbeth. After moving to Cochrane, Alta., in 2003, Florence and John were medical volunteers to Madagascar, Kenya and Nepal. Florence lived enthusiastically and showed her faith through kindness.
