Flore A. Hill

Flore Gaudry was born in St Victor, Saskatchewan on July 10, 1931, one of 12 children.

Flore’s mother, Aldea Lamontagne (maiden name) died when Flore was young. Her father, Modeste Gaudry, moved the children to St Boniface, Manitoba, on the outskirts of Winnipeg, where he built a house across the street from a Catholic boarding school. Keeping the boys at home, Modeste sent Flore and her three sisters to the boarding school at a very young age.

After leaving the boarding school, Flore got a number of jobs, including one at a furrier where she met Ray Piedalue, whom she married in 1950. Denise was born in Winnipeg shortly thereafter. Ray and Flore moved to California in 1952 where Flore’s second daughter, Louise, was born.

Flore’s marriage to Ray did not last. A few years later she married Donald Hill, who was employed at Lockheed Martin. They lived in La Canada, California, for several years where Denise and Louise attended school. Flore helped support the family, working first at an employment agency and then, the La Crescenta Water District from which she retired at age 65.

Flore and Don moved to Arizona in 1993 where they purchased a house in Sun City West.  Don had quite a green thumb, planting a forest of trees and shrubs which soon became home to wildlife, including a resident great-horned owl. Their tree-planting was so successful that when you Googled a satellite image of the neighborhood, their house was easy to pick out from the surrounding houses.

Flore and Don took several overseas trips, one of the most memorable was to Israel where they had the chance to visit Jerusalem’s holy sites, particularly important to Flore as a life-long devout Catholic.

Flore was a member of the Rhythm Tappers, a tap-dancing troupe in Sun City. They performed annually before a sell-out crowd, often dancing more than one encore. Flore enjoyed bowling and games of chance, from playing cards to Aspen Pointe’s bingo events, something she was particularly good at, regularly beating any who were brave enough to play against her.

Upon Don’s death, Denise and Michael (Denise’s husband) moved Flore to Aspen Pointe where she happily resided. She found kindred souls and a religious community that provided friendship.  When music was playing, she was known to be the first one to get up and dance. She was grateful to Mary Hohne and Pat VanGalen for their friendship, especially during the last few months, as her health began to decline.  

Flore passed away on March 4, 2023, at age 91. She is survived by her daughters, Denise and Louise; her sister, Alice Weaver; her grandchildren, Jonathan, Larkin, Noel, and Sarah; and five great-grandchildren.

If you feel your feet tapping to some music, think of Flore!