Florence Astor Ouderkirk, "Flo", had a wonderful life. She was born to Herbert James and Alice Blose Lowe on October 15, 1925, in Memphis, Tennessee. She passed on November 19, 2013 at age 88,in Indianola. Mrs. Ouderkirk grew up with her three sisters, Jean, Susan and Kay, in Galesburg, Illinois. She was the Valedictorian of her high school class. In high school, Flo and her sister, Jean,would travel back and forth to Chicago to sing on the radio. She loved singing. She had a love of music all her life, especially big band swing and Dixieland jazz. She and her husband, Mason G. Ouderkirk, attended many jazz festivals and concerts around the world. Following high school graduation, she went to Chicago to work as the Executive Secretary to the President of a defense contractor in WWII. After the war, she returned to Galesburg to work as the Executive Secretary to the President of Mayo General Hospital while she also attended Knox College.The stint at Mayo, according to her sister, Kay, included teaching etiquette to her baby sisters for meals with her boss and his family. At Knox she met Mason, her lifelong love during the 1948 fall semester. Within weeksshe and Mason were married during the fall semester break. They transferred to Drake University where Flo graduated. She taught at Callahan Jr. High and Roosevelt High School in Des Moines until the couple moved to Indianola in 1951. Their son, Mason J. Ouderkirk, was born in 1953. Flo became a banker in Indianola until Mason cajoled "Flossie", as he called her, into working with him in his law firm. She worked at Ouderkirk Law Firm in Indianola for over 50 years. Flo and Mace enjoyed many mutual interests. They were a driving force behind the original Indianola Veterans Memorial Swimming Pool and the Milford, Iowa Airport. Besides music, she enjoyed gardening, boating, spending summers at Lake Okoboji, theatre, jewelry, fashion, her three Scotty dogs and her family. In her younger years, Flo also liked to play bridge and bowl with the girls. She was fond of driving her convertibles, especially her 57 T-Bird. She loved to travel, visiting every state and 138 countries. She wrote a travel journal as well as an itemized ledger for each trip or cruise. Flo was organized, to say the least. Of course, she made sure the newspaper published many of her travel stories so that others could share in her experiences. Flo was a member of the National Honor Society, Phi Sigma Iota, International Foreign Language Honor Society, Phi Beta Music and Drama Society, member and president of Alpha X: Delta Society (Knox Chapter), Business and Professional Women's Club of Indianola, Simpson Guild, Indianola Concert Association board, Okoboji Summer Theatre, Iliana Club of Traditional Jazz, St. Louis Jazz Society and a charter member of the Greater Des Moines Jazz Club. Florence will be missed. She is survived by her son, Mason James Ouderkirk, along with his wife, Kari; grandson Mason C. Ouderkirk; granddaughter Rheanna Edenburn, together with husband Paul and great-grandchildren Emily and Zachary; sister, Kay Ray, and her husband, Al; sister-in-law, Virginia Ouderkirk, and 14 nieces and nephews. Florence was preceded in death by Mason G., her husband of 62 years, her parents and two sisters, Jean and Susan. Burial has taken place in the Indianola I.O.O.F. Memorial Gardens Cemetery and a celebration of life will be held at a later date. Memorials may be made to the Indianola Concert Association, Alzheimer's Research, or the donor's charity of choice.