Florentine Roelike

Florentine "Flo" Roelike, age 89, of Melrose, died peacefully Sunday, December 2, 2007 at the Pine Villa Care Center in Melrose, Minnesota, where she had been a resident with Alzheimer's disease since February 11, 2005.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, December 7, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Melrose with Rev. Vincent Lieser officiating. Interment will follow in the parish cemetery

.Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 8 to 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose. Parish prayers will be held 7 p.m. Thursday evening at the funeral home.

Florentine Roelike was born November 8, 1918 in New Munich to Mathias and Appolonia (Schmitz) Bauer. She married Dr. Harold Roelike on January 2, 1947 in New Munich, Minnesota. Florentine graduated in St. Paul, Minnesota from Mechanic Arts High School and received her R.N. from Ancker Hospital. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a certificate in Public Health in 1948 and with a Bachelor of Applied Studies in 1975. She had a colorful life as a nurse; private duty in the Twin Cities, floor nurse at Melrose Hospital, industrial nurse in the shipyards in California during the war, institutional nurse in the University Health Service, surgical nurse in the private office of an oral surgeon, School Nurse in Melrose District 740, Public Health Nurse for Stearns County and finally as an assistant director of nurses in charge of the night shift at the Prospect Park Nursing Care Center, a 450 bed institution. She spent two years working with another nurse for the American Red Cross as they covered Minnesota, administering Pap Smear tests for members of Women's Organizations. She took a year off from nursing to supervise and direct home talent plays as far away as Upper New York for a corporation. Harold and Flo lived in Freeport, Melrose, and in Minneapolis while he was a faculty member at the University of Minnesota Dental School. She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, and through the years had memberships in many organizations. She enjoyed gardening, particularly flower raising and arranging, sewing, knitting, and crocheting. Her real personal love was playing cards of all kinds and particularly Bridge. She was a also a great companion to her husband, when they went backpacking and hiking throughout the western states, and the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, and the 27 years they spent their summers in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. There are about 20 trees that now are about 20 feet high which she transplanted from the woods when they were saplings.

She is survived by her husband, Harold of Melrose; son, Tim (Suzanne) of Tucson, Arizona; daughter, Mary Jane (Robert) Blonigen of Upsala; and sister, Esther (Gilbert) Spring of Texas.

She was preceded in death by her son, Paul in April, 2006; brothers and sisters, Hildegard, Mathias, Herbert, Ermalinda, Annabelle, Roman, and Werner, all but two from Alzheimer's disease.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Alzheimer's Association.