Obituary of Florence E. Hurdelbrink

Florence Hurdelbrink, Born January 14, 1920, Died January 2, 2010 Florence was the first of the identical twins born to William and Margaret Nelson, near Sherwood, ND. The twins, Florence and Frances, had a special bond all their lives. Florence grew up in/or around Sherwood. Growing up she loved horses, dances, and singing. She was on the high school track team (a fast runner) and was very good at algebra—both according to her. After high school graduation (June 1938), her twin sister, Frances, got married, and Florence came “Out West” to work as a nanny, while staying with her sister, Grace. During her stay in Washington, Frank caught a freight train from ND to see her. He proposed (on his knee) at Wrights Park in Tacoma. She returned to ND where she and Frank were married June 2, 1940. They had four children by July 1946-two boys and then two girls. They farmed until moving to Tacoma in 1948. When her youngest daughter started school, Florence started working at Smitty’s Restaurant as a waitress. She continued waitress work there for several years. She then worked at a smaller restaurant as the cook and the waitress. She and Frank enjoyed square dancing and round dancing for many years. Florence made all her own dance clothes—beautiful, too. They made a lot of friends during their social years together. After Frank passed away June 1983, Florence sold their family home and moved first to her youngest daughter’s home and then to an apartment near her daughter. She gave a lot of time to senior citizen family and friends—visiting their homes or nursing facilities, baking or cooking something special for each one. Florence loved her children, grandchildren, and her great-grandchildren. She cooked a lot of delicious meals for them through the years. She was an excellent cook and baker—specializing in everything. Her pies were especially delicious. Florence, along with her close women friends, started a knitting club called “happy hookers”. They met every month for many years. They shared pattern ideas, lunch, and lots of “time” together. In June 2004, on the way home from her twin sister’s funeral in ND, Florence started displaying heart problems. She had heart surgery in July 2004. She did not recover enough to live alone any longer. She moved to her oldest daughter’s home in Longview, WA. Her daughter and husband cared for her there. During the Longview years, she had two major strokes and several small ones. The three of them moved together to Fircrest September 2008 to be closer to her family. Even with all her physical issues, Florence remained a positive person. Everyone always commented on her beautiful smile. In her healthy years, she was always dressed well—totally coordinated, her hair fixed and her “face on” before she went anywhere. And, yes, she wore her earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. She accumulated lots and lots of jewelry—mostly inexpensive but nice looking. She lived in a great adult family home the last four months of her life. Besides her family and friends, she had many great caregivers, volunteers, and hospice staff caring for her the last years of her life. She was well loved by all that knew her.