Katharine Flower

Katharine Flower Katharine S. Flower, aged 86, passed away peacefully with her son, Charles, by her side on October 31, 2018 in Eugene, Oregon. Kate was born in 1932 in Richmond, Virginia, to Katharine and Morris Smith, and had one sister, Dorothy. Kate, then known as “Tinka”, and her sister “Dottie” had lots of room in their home and gardens to play. As a child and teenager, Kate attended Saint Catherine’s School in Richmond, Virginia. She earned her college degree in 1954 from Connecticut College, in New London, Connecticut. After college, she married Charles Eugene Little, and had three children: Dorothy, Charles, and Katharine. Katie, as she was called during this time in her life, enjoyed gardening around her homes in Springvale development in Crugers NY and an old farm house in Cortlandt Manor. While raising her children, Kate was a volunteer for the Teatown Lake Reservation, which is a nonprofit nature preserve and environmental education center in Westchester County, NY. She worked in the office and was quickly sought after by the folks who ran the nonprofit to do a little more. Kate started some educational programs such as maple sugaring and family friendly hikes, with the help of naturalists. Katharine became “Kate” when she moved to Mt. Kisco and underwent training to become a cytotechnologist through a program in NYC. She worked at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, NY for many years. In 1975, she married Robert Alban Flower, and lived in White Plains, New York, before retiring to Goshen, Connecticut, in 1986. Kate and Bob Flower cherished their time at Woodridge Lake. They were active members of their Woodridge Lake community and the Goshen community at large. Kate volunteered as a horticultural therapist through the Goshen Garden Club, bringing her love of flowers – wild as well as cultivated – to many folks in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Kate and Bob engaged with many friends through dim sum parties, wine tastings, canoe rides on the Lake, and church activities. She was one of the founding members of the Congregational Church’s mission group who gave refuge to families from Bosnia. These folks found homes and new lives in the United States because of the efforts of this group. Always a gardener and a fabulous cook, Kate created beautiful gardens which remain today at her Woodridge Lake home. Her greenhouse was extraordinary with camellias, gerbera daisies, forced bulbs, geraniums, clivia and many other blooms. She became a bread maker, winning ribbons for her entries at the Litchfield County Fair. Her family had the pleasure of eating at her Thanksgiving table filled with her breads, rolls and famous stuffing. Over time, Kate became progressively disabled as a parapalegic, but continued with her strong spirit. In 1990’s she earned a Masters of Divinity from the Hartford Seminary, confirming her sense of human connection and the universal spirit. She also continued her volunteer work, which included arranging transportation for cancer patients to doctor appointments for Road to Recovery. Though disabled, she still enjoyed her book club activities in her home and her weekly jaunts to the Senior Center in Goshen. In 2017, she moved across the country to the Farmington Square Assisted Living community in Eugene, Oregon, where she could spend the last years of her life near her son Charles and her daughter-in-law Bethany. She was known to create gorgeous flower arrangements each week and was a fierce BINGO player. Kate used her iPad to text her family in efforts to keep in contact with those she cared about. She also avidly played Words with Friends on her iPad which allowed her to reach out to many new and old friends. Though she could not cook any longer, she treasured the times she could come out to her son’s flower farm, watching and talking about the meals they prepared for her. Plants and blooms filled her room at Farmington Square and she was content. Survivors include her sister Dorothy Horan and brother-in-law James Horan; daughter Dorothy Pariot and son-in-law Thomas Pariot; son Charles Little and daughter-in-law Bethany Little; daughter Katharine Tepe and son-in-law Matthew Tepe; grandchildren Julia Griffenkranz (William), David Pariot, Aidan Tepe, great grandson Benjamin Griffenkranz, as well as many people whose lives she touched. Memorial contributions can be made to The Goshen Garden Club at goshengardenclub.org, Love, INC at loveinclanecounty.com, The American Cancer Society at donate3.cancer.org or Teatown Lake Reservation at [email protected]