Page 87 - Lubbock Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine

first to Africa and then Europe. San Antonio. The young couple
At only 18 years of age, she had
sent her new husband off to fight
in WWII, facing an incredible 511
days of unspeakable combat.
During those days of training
at different military camps,
Florene and other military
wives befriended one another,
becoming family away from
family. She worked at different
jobs, once on an assembly line in
a toy factory. Another job was at
a grocery store, complete with a
bakery and even selling baked
beans and rolls. But with her
husband off to war, the teenage
bride found herself a long way
from home. She and three other
military wives boarded a bus in
Virginia to return home to their
families. Florene’s parents lived
in Levelland at that time, and she
was welcomed into their home
once again while her husband
was fighting.
May 9, 1945!!! The war was
over, and the Allied Forces were
victorious! S.K. finally returned
to U.S. soil three months later in
to recite some of her writing at
farmed early on in the Olton
and Muleshoe area, with Florene
carrying on the many duties
of a farm wife and mother of
two—Ilene and Collin. It was
years later that Florene decided
to attend college at Eastern
New Mexico University in
Portales. She graduated Summa
Cum Laude with a secondary
education degree in English.
Though she never taught school,
she pursued her love of writing
and began to do so more and
more. A few years later, the
couple moved to Paris, Texas, to
ranch for several years. While
ranching, she once remarked,
“If you work with
cattle, you’ll begin
writing poetry.”
And that she did! Florene was
a naturally gifted writer, and
it brought much joy to her life.
Over the years,
she won many
awards and
prizes for her
writing. In 1997,
she was asked
Lubbock’s National Cowboy
Symposium. While in Paris,
S.K. became ill. He died on
November 24, 2001, soon after
his cancer diagnosis. After
grieving his loss for a time,
Florene decided to return to West
Texas and settled in Lubbock.
This unbelievable lady of nearly
a century continues to drive
her car, lives in her own home,
socializes with friends, attends
worship services at Quaker
Avenue Church of Christ, and is
always ready for a pot luck meal
or a game of dominoes. Once, she
told her family that, when her
time is over, she hopes they will
not feel sad. “All that matters on
earth is to love God and others
and keep his commandments,”
she told them. Until then, Florene
lives every day in her happy,
upbeat way, waking up looking
on the bright side. She loves
others well, and others love her
well. She is grateful for her life
and experiences, her own story,
her upbringing with her loving
parents, brothers, and sisters, her
devoted husband and children,
and enjoying the freedoms of the
USA. Florene Flatt has lived well.
And she’s not ready to quit yet.
Lubbock Senior Link 87