Florence Bertha Pettit

Florence Bertha “Labs” Pettit was born on February 9, 1928 in Elkhorn, Nebraska to William and Bertha “Vilwok” Labs. Florence was the fourth child of seven. Early in her childhood Florence was given the nick name of Honey and that name stayed with her throughout her life. When Honey’s children were young they would often ask who Florence was, for all they ever heard was Honey.



Florence was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church in Elkhorn. She lived in Elkhorn for the first twenty-eight years of her life. She went to the Elkhorn Schools for grades 2 through 12. She graduated in 1946 and was in the top 19 of her graduating class. The graduating class had a total of 19 students. Florence often said she learned more after she got out of high school than she did during high school.



As Florence was growing up you would often find her and siblings chasing rabbits out of their holes. As another form of entertainment, Florence would make puppets out of the Sunday paper and perform shows with her brothers and sisters.



Florence started her working career at Hell’s Red and White grocery store in Elkhorn. She worked there for four years and then went to work for Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. Florence worked at the phone company for six years.



In 1956 Florence met and married Richard Pettit. They found each other at the Aksarben race track. They dated for three months and were married on September 22, 1956.



Florence had four sons – Bret, Bart, Mark, and Chuck. As her children were growing, Florence would attend every school function that her sons were involved with. As the boys participated in sports she would try to attend every game. She enjoyed going to the various out of town tournaments. When the games were over for the day, Florence would often go to the lounge and dance with the other parents.



As the boys were growing, Florence started working at Pettit’s Pastry starting in January 1967 and worked there until 2003. After 2003, Florence continued to do the books for the bakery but she did this work from her house.



Another career that Florence took on was to be the cook for 15-20 years for those that went hunting on the weekends.



Florence had nine grandchildren: Benjamin, Laura, Ryan, Crystal, Katie, Jacob, Michelle, Molly, Kalli, and one great-grandson: Logan. She would call each grandchild her favorite. The grandchildren became her pride and joy. Christmas was a fun time and Florence would try to make sure each grandchild had a few gifts to open. Florence enjoyed watching the grandkids open their presents and see their expression on their faces. Easter was another fun event. If you ever came to Easter at Honey’s house you would often be greeted by the Easter bunny and would get a chocolate bunny and other candies. The Easter egg hunt was also a fun time.



Those that knew Florence would say that she enjoyed doing things for other people. Florence enjoyed playing cards. She also enjoyed dancing and would dance as much as she could at various weddings and New Year’s Eve parties. Florence really enjoyed going out for hot dogs and she really appreciated Joan and Judy taking her out for a hot dog. One award that Florence was given was Being 29 the Longest. Every time her birthday came along she would say that she was 29. When her youngest son became 29, Florence realized that she could not remain 29 any longer; she was now two 40s and one seven.



Florence lived a good life and was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Richard; and sisters, Arlene, Evelyn, and Dorothy. She is survived by her sons, Bret, Bart and his wife Tammy, Mark and his wife Kris, and Chuck; grandchildren, Benjamin and significant other Urszula, Laura and her husband Mitch, Ryan and his wife Dana, Crystal and her significant other Ryan, Katie, Jacob and his wife Tiffany, Michelle, Molly, and Kalli; great-grandchild, Logan; and brothers, Howard, Kenneth, and Bill.



Visitation will be from 6-8 PM Wednesday, December 23, 2015 at John A. Gentleman 72nd Street Chapel. Funeral services will be at 10 AM on Saturday, December 26, 2015 at the funeral home followed by burial at Kennard Cemetery in Kennard, Nebraska.



Memorials are suggested to the American Diabetes Association.



Services:

Funeral Service will be held at 10 AM on Saturday, December 26, 2015 at John A. Gentleman Mortuaries 72nd Street Chapel followed by burial at Kennard Cemetery in Kennard, Nebraska.



Visitation:

Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 PM on Wednesday, December 23, 2015 at John A. Gentleman Mortuaries 72nd Street Chapel.