HENRY FLORA

Henry W. Flora, age 105, of Aurora, formerly Hyde Park, NY and Fruitland Park, FL, passed away peacefully surrounded by the love and prayers of his family, Sunday, February 26, 2023.

He was born February 16, 1918, in Carlisle, PA, to loving parents, William and Jennie Flora. When he was just one year old, Henry lost his father leaving his mom to raise him as a single mother.  

Henry grew up in Carlisle and attended local schools. He graduated from Carlisle High School where he made a name for himself on the gridiron as star football player. His athletic prowess extended to the wrestling ring as well.  

Following graduation, Henry attended Penn State University while working construction locally, but also in the kitchens of Penn State until he received a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Later in life he received a master’s degree in management engineering from RPI in Troy, NY. 

As a student at Penn State, Henry participated in the ROTC program, and subsequently enlisted into the United States Army during WWII. The Army sent Henry to New York to train in radar when his eyes locked on Lois Squires, who coincidentally was working as a civilian in Schenectady NY for the Navy Department during WWII. Although Lois thought at first his name was Henry Ford, she married him anyway. Their two hearts became one on October 23, 1943, in MO, and spent the next 870 months of wedded bliss together minus his two-year stint in the U.S. Army Signal Corp.  

They began their new life together for all of four days before Henry was shipped off to serve his country in the South Pacific. As a First Lieutenant, Henry was in charge of secure communications under General MacArthur, both in Australia as well as on a ship in the Philippine’s. While he was away, they were blessed with a son, Robert, while living with her parents. After the war, Henry came home to a one-and-a-half-year-old son which he met for the first time.  The family moved to Morristown NJ, then on to Levittown on Long Island where they welcomed home their first daughter. The now growing family caught up to Henry in Falls Church, Virginia where Henry was serving his country once again at the Pentagon during the Korean war.  They returned to Levittown and added another son, Steve. Hyde Park, NY was their next destination where their daughter Hollie made the family complete. After the kids were grown (and thirty years later), Lois and Henry moved to Lake Wales, FL for a short time before settling into Fruitland Park. Nineteen years of memories passed before they moved to their current home in Aurora, IL, to be near family in 2003.

Henry was a proud member of the Gideons International as well as the American Heart Association and was past president of the Ostomy Association. He was instrumental in the building of Faith Assembly of God in Poughkeepsie, NY, where Henry was not only a valued member, but served on the board as well.

Henry was always busy, fixing things around the house including two bedrooms for his children. He loved fishing anywhere he could cast a line, especially at his son’s home in Michigan and on the various lakes of Florida. He didn’t need any fancy equipment, just a fishing pole and time. Henry enjoyed sharing the outdoors with various birds of every feather, whether or not they flocked together. His personal weather station was monitored closely, and the information collected was sent in daily to a sponsored weather service, CoCoRaHS. He even won an award for being the oldest and the most faithful in collecting and sharing his information. No one needs to forecast the tears that will be shed upon his passing, but the sunshine of his memories will no doubt be record breaking. 

He now leaves four children: Bob (Marilyne) Flora, Heather (Stanley) Birnbaum, Steve (Sharon Presti) Flora and Hollie (Alan) Flora-Holmquist; Twelve grandchildren: Linnann (Pascal) Muhlemann and their children Sedona and Zack; Lisa Flora, Rachel (Nathaniel) Wiseman, Wendy Birnbaum, Eli Stephen (Shoshana) Birnbaum and their sons Shalev and Tzuk; Ariel Andrew (Gal) Birnbaum and their daughter Carmel, Chaim (Vered) Birnbaum and their son, Lavie, Lucas Flora, Amber (Kevin) Lawless, Jade (Sikander) Flora-Holmquist and their daughter, Leilah, and Garnet (Will Dowling) Flora-Holmquist and their children, Alastor and Murphy; nieces, nephews, countless cousins and a family of friends who will miss him dearly.

He is reunited with his wife Lois, his parents, William and Jennie, and one granddaughter, Hadessa “Hadi” Flora.

Private family services have already been held. A celebration of life will be hosted by the family at a later date following his burial at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Gideons International, https://www.gideons.org/donate. Memories and tributes may be left on the Conley Funeral Home Facebook Page, or at www.conleycare.com.