Florence Marie Bobleter was born on September 16, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois, the first child of Walter Bobleter and Gertrude Hokkanen Bobleter. She passed away peacefully on September 27, 2022 in Salem, Oregon, after having joyously celebrated her 93rd birthday with friends and family at her residence at Bonaventure of Salem.
Florence graduated from Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, California, in 1947. From 1947 to 1949 she attended Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts; it no longer exists as an undergraduate women's college since women may now enroll directly into Harvard. Florence graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1951, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Florence worked for the Ford Foundation in New York City from 1953 to 1957, and in their Jakarta, Indonesia office from 1957 to 1961. She returned to Santa Ana to look after her mother when the latter's health began to fail in 1961, and cared for her until her mother's passing in 1978. During this period, Florence first worked for Hunt Foods & Industries and later with the County of Orange. There, she held the positions of social worker, deputy public guardian, and then deputy public administrator. After taking early retirement from the County in 1980, Florence joined the Legal Aid Society of Orange County and served as director of its Lawyers Referral Service.
In 1989, Florence enrolled as a volunteer with the Lay Mission Helpers Association of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. From 1989 to 1994, she was stationed at the Vunapope Mission in East New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Upon her return to the U.S., she was accepted as a live-in volunteer at the Benedictine Sisters' Queen of Angels Monastery in Mt. Angel, Oregon. In 1998 she retired to Salem and was a member of St. Joseph Parish there until her death. She maintained her association with Queen of Angels Monastery by becoming an Oblate. Florence was also a longtime member of the Young Ladies Institute (YLI), having joined in 1969, in Santa Ana and then continuing her involvement in Salem.
Florence was predeceased by her parents, her brother John, and her sister Gertrude "Maria" Kniker. She is survived by her sister Millicent Bobleter; her nieces Dorothy, Judith (Judy), and Emily; her nephews Jeremy and Mark; her grandnieces Mariam, Katherine, Elise, and Louisa; her grandnephews Zak, David, Benjamin, and Andrew; and her great-grandniece Helen.
Florence was a devoted daughter, sister, aunt, oblate, and friend. She touched the lives of countless people through her loving, generous, and adventurous spirit. Independent to the end, she inspired those around her with her fortitude and faith. Florence will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered. Her nieces would like to share their beloved Aunt Flo’s words of wisdom to them: “Girls, remember to keep your eyes on the doughnut and not on the hole, and always go with the flow like your Aunt Flo!”
Family and friends are invited to Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Salem, Oregon on Monday, October 17 for a Recitation of the Rosary at 1:30 PM, followed by a Funeral Mass at 2:00 PM. A reception will follow Mass. Florence will be laid to rest in Melrose Abbey Memorial Park in Anaheim, California.
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