Florence DeWitt

Florence DeWitt, 94, of Kansas City, died peacefully of natural causes on Christmas Eve, 2017.  Born Florence Marie Carré in Racine, Wisconsin, on April 13, 1923, Florence was the only child of Dr. John F. Carré and Margaret Carré.

Growing up in Racine, Florence was Valedictorian at Park High School.  She attended Northwestern University, graduating from its renowned school of speech.   Florence went on to a pre-motherhood career writing radio-show scripts at WMAQ, Chicago’s NBC-owned station (including scripts for Dave Garroway, later a Today Show host). At Northwestern, she met Clyde F. DeWitt, Jr., whom she married on May 4, 1946.  Their marriage would last just a month short of 60 years upon Clyde, Jr.’s untimely death in 2006.

Florence is survived by an endless list of people who all loved her dearly, including family (all in the Kansas City area unless otherwise noted): Her four children, Diane Dryer (widow of Tom), and Clyde III (Las Vegas,NV, married to Cherie), John (Ida Grove, IA, married to Carrie) and Andy (married to Nancy); her four grandchildren, Sandi Dryer Moleski (Lemont, IL), Ryan Dryer, James DeWitt and Martin DeWitt; and her eight great-grandchildren, Donovan and Delaney Moleski (Lemont, Il), Raleigh and Sullivan Dryer, Linden DeWitt and Emma, Henric and Greta DeWitt. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Jean Dotson (Ann Arbor, MI) and brother-in-law Jim DeWitt (Glencoe, IL).

Florence was a most loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She was also a caring, fiercely loyal woman with a huge heart.   She was remarkably intelligent and well-read, along with being an extremely talented writer and poet.

Her talents were exemplified by the fact that she earned a masters degree in History from the University of Kansas in her late 50s!  To do that, she was required to learn and become literate in German, adding that language to her existing fluency in French and Latin.  Her graduate studies led her to be involved with St. Peter’s church, a historically German-American institution.

After her children left the nest, she became heavily involved in charity work, volunteering time and money to, among others, autistic and severely handicapped children and, in recent years, the Food Pantry and the Stephen Ministry.

A celebration of her life will take place at 1:00 PM, January 21, 2018, at Johnson County Chapel and Memorial Gardens, 11200 Metcalf Avenue, Overland Park, KS 66210;

In lieu of flowers please send contributions to the Anne E. SwaneyFoundation. anneswaneyfoundation.org