Florence Geraldine
Koss, 94, of Lacey, Washington, peacefully passed away October, 20, 2018.
She was preceded in
death by her loving husband, Joseph G. Koss and her brother, Bernard Ozimek.
Florence was born
September 12, 1924, in Chicago, Illinois to John Oziemkiewicz and Laura (Salamowicz)
Oziemkiewicz.
In her early years,
she graduated from Bowen High School in Chicago, IL, and worked as a
secretary for Allyn & Bason Book Publishers, Technical Plywoods and
Kaiser-Frazer.
Florence married
Joseph G. Koss on December 30, 1950.
Florence was a
former member of The Duneland Rock Club, St. Patrick Catholic Church, and
the St. Patrick’s Senior Club, Chesterton, IN.
Her hobbies were
collecting rocks and fossils, fishing, and bird watching. She was renowned
for her cooking and baking skills (awesome pies and fried Indiana blonde
morels). Florence was bilingual; English was her first language but, she
could also read, write and speak Polish. She was an avid reader and had
always been politically active. She loved vacation trips and traveled
throughout the United States. She was keen at playing various Dominoes
games. She was a Chicago White Sox fan and immediately became a “12th Man”
Seattle Seahawks fan when she moved from Valparaiso, Indiana, to Washington
State nine years ago. She delighted in playing the slot machines at the
local casinos (but, she would never play more than $20 a casino visit)
and she never missed an opportunity to dine at the buffets. Above all
else, she loved being a wife, a mother and a grandmother; her family was her
heart and joy.
Florence is
survived by two daughters, Debbie Koss-Warner (Steve Warner) of Shelton,
Washington; Andrea Thigpen (Gordon) of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and two
grandchildren, Harry “Gordie” (Anna) Thigpen of Massachusetts and Libby
(Matt) Mobley, of Oklahoma in the near future, and her scrappy grandcats.