Florence Lundegard

Florence Mary Upham Lundegard 88, departed this earth on September 28, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Florence enjoyed life and is deeply missed. Florence is survived by two children: Glenn Livers (James) of Carmel, Indiana, and Robert Upham Lundegard (Michelle) of La Plata, Maryland; 5 grandchildren, David and Jessica Livers, and Garrett, Reed and Adam Lundegard. She was preceded in death by her sister, Harriette Brown.

She was born on December 25, 1930 in Scofield Barracks, Hawaii to John Southworth Upham and Harriette Lawrence Upham. A self-described “army brat”, she grew up in Hawaii, Kansas, Maryland, Virginia, California, New York and Europe. She earned her B. A. from Middlebury College in Vermont, her M.A. from City College of New York, and worked toward a doctorate in English at Ball State University in Indiana. She married Loyal Gerald Lundegard, on Governor’s Island, NY in 1954.

Florence had an independent streak, and following graduation, took her first major adventure by touring Europe in 1953 with a girlfriend, hitchhiking and staying in youth hostels. She started her career in Paris supporting post-WWII American activities. Returning to the US, she worked at McCall’s Magazine in New York City then began teaching English at Farmingdale State College on Long Island, New York. Seeking a change and additional education, she and her children moved to Muncie, Indiana. A 10 year period of teaching English and Humanities at Carmel High School in Indiana followed.

Dubbed “Fabulous Flo” by her son and his buddies, her passion was her children. She encouraged them to acquire skill in “at least one thing you can be good at”. Noting Glenn’s interest in horses, she bought Razzy and went to every horse show. Rob’s talent was tennis and she was very proud of his beautiful game and the friends tennis brought him. As her family grew to include her beloved grandchildren, she was pleased to continue an “angel” family tradition through investments in their education.

Florence was witty, compassionate and made new friends through tennis as well as her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. She had a keen intellect, played a mean hand of bridge and loved a good book. Part of every Sunday was reserved for her copy of the Sunday New York Times, which she read front to back. She was a clear thinker and communicator, and even expressed her thoughts through poetry at times.

Kind and classy, Florence was a role model in aging gracefully. Having her daughter nearby was a blessing for her -- seeing Glenn come round the corner always brought a smile to her face.

A celebration of her life is planned for Saturday, October 26, at the Indianapolis Art Center from 4 to 6 p.m. Memorial gifts may be made to the Nature Conservancy of Indiana (nature.org) or the Southern Poverty Law Center (splcenter.org).