Florence Moseley Orvis Simmons

1930 - 2022

Florence Moseley Orvis Simmons, 91, of Mesa, Arizona and Estes Park, Colorado, died in the early morning hours of Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in the presence of her son, Bruce Orvis and her sister, Cheryl Moseley.
Florence had long admired a poem by Linda Ellis called "The Dash Poem" (the "dash" refers to the mark between the date of birth and the date of death.) Two Stanzas of the poem are: "He noted that first came the date of birth and spoke the following date with tears, but he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. For that dash represents all the time that they spent alive on earth, and now only those who loved them know what that little line is worth.
The "dash" that represents Florence's life covered a wide range of roles, activities, duties and experiences.
...she was a farmer's wife living in Furnas County, Nebraska.
...she played piano for Sunday church services for the Hendley, Nebraska Methodist Church for many years.
...she baked and decorated wedding and birthday cakes for a variety of clients.
...she endured the deaths of two husbands, a step-daughter, her parents, a brother, a sister and many other family members and friends.
...she was a cashier at Brodie's Supermarket in Estes Park.
...she loved her children and stepchildren.
...she was a retail clerk at Estes Park establishments including Brownfields, The Intrigue, and Bobbi's Clothing.
...she loved to host friends for dinner.
...she loved listening to Brad Fitch sing and play guitar.
...she was always more interested in hearing how others were doing than in telling them how she was doing.
...her Berthoud-Dale, Colorado, friends were very dear to her: Jane, Judy, Mike, Conny, Craig, John, Diane, Mary, Dick.
...she loved watching birds.
...she was a Sunday school teacher at the Hendley Methodist Church.
...a favorite pastime was to sit on the patio in the Big Thompson Canyon of Colorado and watch the river flow by.
...she thought of herself as "worthless" if she wasn't working or doing something constructive.
...she hated oatmeal.
...she decorated excessively for Christmas.
...she liked jewelry and having her hair styled weekly.
...she was a fantastic housekeeper.
...she loved the music and jokes of Mark Lucas.
...she disliked going to doctors or anything to do with a hospital.
...she loved the mountains of Colorado.
...despite living "in town" since 1967, she was still a "farm girl" at heart.
...she sometimes despaired that she had lived too long.
...she never wavered from the farmer's schedule of eating breakfast early in the morning, dinner was at noon, and supper was at 6 p.m. (or when the farm work was done for the day).
...she always had the refrigerator, freezer, and deep freeze stocked with too much food (probably due to growing up in the shadow of the Great Depression).
...she loved knickknacks (and had way too many of them).
...in retirement, she loved the warm weather of Arizona during the winter, but she always was counting the days when she could return to Colorado for the summer.
...she would have not liked that I said "she loved" so many things here; to her, you love only "people" and you like "things."
...she loved her sister Cheryl .
...she insisted on being at home in her final days - not a group home, not a senior citizen center, etc.
...she seldom measured any recipe ingredient and the finished product turned out great.
...her Mesa, Ariz., neighbors loved her.
...to her, TV was not to be watched during the day, only in the evening (except for daytime football and baseball games).
...she could be hurting and in some pain, but you would never know it unless you paid very close attention.
...in her later years, Ron and Janet McClain (of Nebraska) and Mike and Lori Fielding (of Arizona) were special friends.
...she was proud of her children.
...she leaves behind many adoring family members including Susan, Bruce, Cherly, JD, Kendall and family, Kendra and family, DJ and family, and Dallas. As well as a host of friends scattered around the country.
...in her final days, she requested that a lamp on her bedroom dresser remain on at all times. The light bulb in that lamp burnt out minutes after she passed.
...mostly, Florence will be remembered as a kind, caring, compassionate, and loving person. In her lifetime, she experienced triumph and tragedy and came through it all with a smile on her face and love in her heart. She has lived a good life and has earned her heavenly reward. Rest in peace, we will dearly miss you.
Chronological order of events in the life of Florence Orvis Simmons:
1930 Florence was born to Helen and Truman Moseley in Cambridge, Nebraska.
1947 Married Kenneth D. Orvis in Hendley.
1948 Birth of Susan Orvis Simmons.
1952 Birth of Bruce Orvis.
1963 Kenneth Orvis passed away.
1967 Married John Simmons; became mother to Johnnie (JD), Debbie, and Diana Simmons.
1976 Debbie Simmons Kinne passed away.
1979 Florence and John moved to Estes Park.
1997 Florence and John moved to Mesa.
2008 John Simmons passed away.
A "celebration of life" event to honor and remember Florence Orvis Simmons will be held at Berthoud-Dale Lane in Estes Park this summer on a date to be determined.