Florence Hilda George ^{1 2 3}

  General Notes:

Source: Rifle Telegram, Thursday, 18 Oct 1951

Florence H. Brooks, who had spent most of her life in this vicinity, passed away Monday, at 11:15 at the home of her father, Claude George, after an illness of 3 years.

Florence George was born December 31, 1918 at Rifle, and spent her childhood here and attended Rifle Schools. She was married to Arlis Brooks, stockman, at Meeker on March 7, 1935.

Two sons, George Earl, 14, and Melvin Arlis, 11, survive her. She is also survived by her parents, Claude and Clarissa George, and several brothers and sisters who are Annie Hanson of Rifle, Clarence George of Denver, Clyde George of Rifle, Ruth Loose of Denver, Burt and Walter of Rifle, Bill of Montrose, Gene, who is in the Navy, and Dale of Rifle.

Funeral services are to be held Thursday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock at the Rifle Christian Church with the Rev. Otto B. Duckworth officiating. Burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery under the direction of Sayer Funeral Home.

Gene Homer George composed the following mini-biography for Florence...

Florence was a gentle caring woman and I guess her main goal in life was that of a wife, mother and homemaker. She married young and took her place in the community as the wives of those days did.

As a girl on the ranch she was quite capable in the fields working a team of horses. She learned to drive an automobile which many women did not do in those days.

In 1947 she became ill with rheumatic fever and was bedridden for many months. The fever was so bad it caused her to loose all of her hair and her legs drew up into a fetal position. Her body wasted away to under 90 pounds. After a time it seemed she had overcome the illness and needed therapy to regain her mobility and strength so she was taken from her parents home where she had been cared for and sent to Denver to the hospital. The recovery was almost amazing and in a few months she was home, ready to resume her life.

Shortly after her return she and Arlis were divorced and in an attempt to go on, she started a dress making business. Being an excellent seamstress, this seemed to be the way to make a living. Before this venture had time to become a reality she passed away. It seems the former illness had caused too much heart damage for her to go on.

Florence was the first of the Claude George children to marry and her first born was the first grandchild. Her tradition of first was to continue on, with Melvin being the first of the next generation to marry and his son, Jay, being the first born of the next generation, and to become the first married of that generation and to have the first child of the next generation. ³

  Additional Information:

• Alt. Birth, 1919. ⁵

• FindAGrave: Memorial# 58828943.

Florence married Arlis Merle Brooks, son of Jasper Earl Brooks and Russie Vera Burke, on 7 Mar 1935 in Meeker, Rio Blanco County, Colorado. (Arlis Merle Brooks was born on 18 Jul 1913 in Duncan, Stephens County, Oklahoma,⁷ died on 1 Dec 1998 in Escalante, Garfield County, Utah ⁷ and was buried in Escalante Cemetery, Escalante, Garfield County, Utah ^{8 9}.)