Obituary
Gene Earl Floro, 80, of Topeka, died March 5, 2016. He was born
December 11, 1935, in Benton, Illinois, the son of Ernest and Yutha
(Pelhank) Floro.
Mr. Floro grew up in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, and graduated from Southern
Illinois University – Carbondale. He served in the Unites States Navy in
public information, culminating with a special assignment to a Command
Information Bureau established to create nationwide publicity for the
Navy’s 50th Anniversary of Naval Aviation. He was responsible for media
relations, and did interviews with radio and television stations across the
country during a cross-country “race” involving vintage aircraft.
Mr. Floro went into commercial broadcasting after leaving the Navy and
came to Topeka in 1964, working for WIBW-TV as a morning and late
afternoon on-air host of The Rush Hour and The Early News. He worked
for KSNT-TV a few years later as Creative Services manager. More
recently, he had been in the advertising field, owning Creative Works, an
advertising agency. He served on various boards over the years, including
Friends of the Zoo, The Topeka Advertising Club, and Topeka Festival
Singers.
Mr. Floro was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Jack Floro; sister,
Patricia Maehl; and long-time companion, Mike Printz.