“Flo" was born in Los Angeles, CA on Aug 15, 1933 to Homer Reese and Veleta Pepper Reese.
After attending Belmont High School in LA, Flo received a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Occidental College in 1955 and then began teaching high school mathematics.
Flo was a teacher at heart and had a gift of inspiring others to become their best with her unconditional love.
She married Lee Lawyer in 1967 and became the step-mom of Phil and Greg Lawyer. Flo and Lee had two additional children, Erik and Laura that they raised in Thousand Oaks, CA.
Although a full-time teacher, Flo’s passion was her family and friends.
Flo went on to receive her Masters in Public Education and began her highly respected career as an Administrator at LA’s continuation school, Metropolitan High. As one example of her loving character, Flo held baby showers for the pregnant high school students.
She went on to become Vice Principal at Birmingham High, then Principal at Verdugo Hills High, Redwood Intermediate School, and retired as the Principal at Newbury Park High School in the mid 1990’s. She loved teaching so much that after retiring as a principal she returned to teach her favorite subject, math, to the students of La Reina Middle & High School until June, 2000.
After her husband Lee’s death in 1999 and after her second retirement in June 2000, Flo moved to the Chinook Pass area west of Naches, WA to be closer to her family and friends. Since that time she was a member of the Chinook Pass Lions Club, serving as Treasurer, Secretary and President of that club at various times. She was on the founding board of the Naches Dollars for Scholars, which serves students graduating from Naches Valley High School. She was an active member of the Chinook Pass Elderberries, which is part of the Red Hats Society.
She married her friend, and fellow high school adminstrator, Marty Pattee in March, 2004 who predeceased her in May, 2015.
She enjoyed getting together with her many friends, picking wild mushrooms and huckleberries, attending musical events, traveling, hiking, playing Sudoku, spending time with her children, grandchildren, and her dog Buddy. She loved to entertain in her beautiful mountain home. She was an extraordinary woman who was loved and respected by all who knew her.
Surviving are her son, Erik Lawyer (Boulder, CO), her daughter, Laura Brown (Boulder, CO), her step sons Phil Lawyer (Frazier Park,CA) and Greg Lawyer (Goldendale, WA), daughter-in-laws; Kelly Lawyer (Boulder, CO), Debbie Lawyer (Goldendale, WA), son-in-law Scott Brown (Boulder, CO) 6 grandchildren; Tabitha Determan, Tammie Wong, Tiffany Lawyer, Lienne Brown, Kody Lawyer, Silas Brown, 5 great-grandchildren; Seth Wong, Alan Ourada, Kayla Ourada, Logan Wong, Ethan Ourada, and her dog Buddy.
There will be an informal memorial gathering at Ciscos restaurant in Thousand Oaks, CA on Wed, Nov. 18 from 3:30-5:30PM.
There will be a formal memorial service at Nile Valley Community Church on Fri. Dec 11th, 2015 in Naches, WA beginning at 11AM.
In lieu of flowers or gifts; memorial tributes, stories and photo sharing on her website - www.go2flo.org, and/or donations to Chinook Pass Lions Club or Naches Dollars for Scholars in her name would be greatly appreciated.
With Love & Gratitude,
Florence "Flo" Veleta Reese-Lawyer-Pattee's family & friends
Tributes
Leave a tributeWe hold dear in our hearts the memories of you all going up in Thousand Oaks Those were special times for all of us! Thank you for sending this memorial message on your Mom's birthday!
Love, Eileen
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Leave a Tribute
We hold dear in our hearts the memories of you all going up in Thousand Oaks Those were special times for all of us! Thank you for sending this memorial message on your Mom's birthday!
Love, Eileen
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Please be patient.
The kitchen sink
For New Years in 2005 Erik talked me into coming to Washington for a visit. At that time Alan was 2 and Kayla was 8 months old. We got to spend a few days at grandmas house. She hadn't had any grand babies visit yet and was so excited to have one visit. The first night we were there she asked to give Kayla a bath in her kitchen sink. After all that was the reason she put the sink in. She smiled the whole time and took several pictures and hung 3 of them in her kitchen. She was so proud of this moment that anyone who came to that kitchen heard this wounderful story.
Northern CA trip
The summer before my freshman year in high school, my sisters (Tabitha and Tiffany) and I were lucky enough to take a road trip to Northern California. We had never been before, but what made it extra special was we were going to attend Laura's aquatics camp for a week. Both Grandmas embarked on the trip of a lifetime with the 3 T's in tow. The five of us drove up the coast and we became the camp attendees that had travelled the longest distance. Grandma and Grandma took to the town to shop and enjoy good food! The final camp day both Grandma's came as usual to pick us up. They became chatty with the other parents and expressed they were proud Gramdmothers to the 3 T's! When asked what side they were from Grandma Harriette responded, "The father's side." Then they turned to Grandma Flo and she chuckled and said, "Now we'r really going to confuse you, we're both the father's side!" I was lucky enough to talk about this with Grandma when I visited her last month. I asked her if it was hard to be friends with her husbands ex-wife all those years, and she very quickly responded "Oh yeah!" Then she told me that when I was younger and we were on one of our many trips aorund the state I had said that Grandma Harriette should come with next time. She said that she had never considered it, but being the amazing woman she was she slowly worked up to that very idea! It started with annual dinners at Hometown Buffet the night before Thanksgiving, the 3 T's got dessert before dinner here, then turned into a real friendship between two women who showed me the value of acceptance, forgiveness, and humility. I will cherish the Northern California trip as well as the life lesson for eternity! <3
The Clinton Street Spy Catchers
Flo grew up at 1733 Clinton Street in Los Angeles, CA.
She had many good memories from that home, loved that it was right next to Echo Park and had many funny stories to share.
During WWII - while her dad was serving in the Navy, she and her neighbor partner (another 11-12 year old girl) took it upon themselves to help look for potential enemy spies. They had narrowed their search to one specific female neighbor who was a pretty grumpy old lady. Her attitude was all the proof they needed to be suspicious, now they needed to prove she was a spy. They would occasionally 'borrow' some of her mail, open it to look for proof, and then return it. Apparently the 'spy' was pretty deep undercover because Flo and her partner were unable to crack the case.