Leonard Phillip Flori

Leonard Phillip Flori was born on May 27, 1930, in Waco, Texas, to Aloysius and Barbara Flori. He died on Monday, July 18, 2016, in Dallas, Texas. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Ann Brennan Flori, with whom he shared nearly 49 years of marriage in their Garland, Texas, home; his oldest daughter, Lisa Nicholson, and son-in-law, Patrick Nicholson, of Mesquite, Texas; his son-in-law, Chris Workman, and grandchildren Lori and Steven of Peoria, Illinois; his youngest daughter, Karen Logan, and son-in-law, Aaron Logan, of Wylie, Texas, and grandchildren, Joshua, Gabriel, Lukas, Hannah, Abigail, Elijah, Moriah, Caris, Matthew, and newest grandson, Phillip Ethan, expected to be born in December 2016. He is preceded in death by his middle daughter, Cathy Workman, who passed away on June 7, 2010.

Len is also survived by his sister, Dorothy Ann Flori, SSMN, of Fort Worth, Texas, and his brother, Reverend David Flori of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Richardson, Texas.

To know Len Flori was to absolutely adore him. From his unshakeable love and devotion for his family to his boundless pursuit of music and other creative hobbies, Len Flori was a tender, kindhearted man to everyone he met. First and foremost, Len was a dedicated husband, a proud father, and a doting grandpa (aka “Pops”). He could easily capture the attention of an entire room with his booming, operatic basso profondo voice, a hilarious joke, or a detailed story of his passion for all things historical, meant to pique his listeners’ interest and educate beyond a classroom setting. He was such a powerful storyteller that one might find themselves laughing at one point and sharing a tearful moment with him in the next. He was a die-hard Dallas Cowboys fan, a lover of Blue Bell ice cream (the secret to his longevity, he insisted), an expert in wartime machines and weaponry, and an inventor of fun, creative ways to entertain his grandchildren. As a part of “The Greatest Generation,” he was a patriotic gentleman, resourceful with an unmatched work ethic. Len was a man of great integrity and hopeless sentimentality, too.

His hobbies included building model airplanes, gardening, working complicated puzzles, grilling in the backyard, and spending time with his family around a homemade game of “Wahoo!” or enjoying a game of Catch with the football. His greatest passion, though, was music. He loved to sing, to practice perfection in his art, and to compose. Through his diligence, he even composed a variety of beautiful, heartwarming duets and medleys and an entire, modern opera, centered around the Civil War’s Battle of Shiloh, entitled The Angel of Shiloh, that is proudly copyrighted in the Library of Congress. He loved singing in his church’s traditional choir for over 30 years and teaching his daughters and oldest grandsons proper vocal technique and the importance of rote memorization. Through self-discipline, he even taught himself a number of foreign languages. Len was constantly learning and sharing that passion for knowledge with others.

His professional career was as multi-faceted as his personal interests. He served his country during the Korean War, as a ¬¬¬¬Squad Leader and Browning Automatic Rifleman in the 1st Cavalry of the United States Army from 1951 to 1952. He was the recipient of the Korean Service Medal (with one bronze service star) and the United Nations Service Medal. Following his years in the service, he pursued his collegiate education. He received two Bachelor’s Degrees in Music from The Chicago Conservatory of Music (1955) and Baylor University (1957). It was after these achievements that Len enjoyed teaching Music and Social Studies for five years in Waco, Texas. Decades later, Len received his Master’s Degree in Education from East Texas State University (1982), followed by a Law Enforcement Certification (1972) from Sam Houston State College. For the remainder of his professional life, he worked as a probation officer for the Dallas County Juvenile Delinquent Center from 1960 to 1993, where he mentored and educated troubled youth. Len also worked as an instructor of defensive driving and as a security officer for a variety of venues.

While it’s impossible to capture the full measure of such an amazing, genuine, and fascinating man in a few, tidy paragraphs, this one point rings true: The world will never be the same without Len Flori, but his legacy will continue through those who will always love and cherish him. God, in His infinite wisdom and sovereignty, knew it was time for him to be reunited with his beautiful daughter, Cathy, and finally take his place in the heavenly choir, where we all assuredly know that he is blessing the Lord and all of Heaven with his incredible vocal talents!

Please join Len’s family in celebrating his wonderful life:

Visitation:

Friday, July 22, 2016, from 6-8 pm

Rosary to be held at 7:30 pm

Sparkman-Crane Funeral Home

10501 Garland Rd, Dallas, Texas 75218

Funeral:

Saturday, July 23, 2016, at 10:30 am

St. Patrick’s Catholic Church

9643 Ferndale Road, Dallas, Texas 75238

Reception to follow immediately after the service

Burial:

Tuesday, July 26, 2016, at 2:00 pm

DFW National Cemetery

2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, Texas 75211