Florence M. Welborn's Obituary
Florence Welborn, a creative force of nature passed away October 27, 2024. She was 88. She had a ‘big life’ – as artist, educator, entrepreneur, traveler, mentor – passionate about learning through her voracious reading, engagement with her friends, and extensive travel which she did always with an agenda in mind – namely, learning more, talking with many, and honing her artistic talents which she loved to share with all. She had an outsized impact on many in many ways. She will be missed.
After high school, mom went down to Mills College in California where she earned a bachelor’s degree. She returned back to Lakewood and after a whirlwind romance, fell in love with Howard, an Air Force officer and off they went to Japan followed by stations in Illinois and Virginia prior to retiring in Tacoma. She fell in love with Japan – travelled extensively, and to no one’s surprise, quickly took up the mantle of teaching English as a way to both share her knowledge as well as gain insights from her adult students many of whom, again to no surprise, became family friends. She continued to teach while in Virginia and Tacoma. For awhile. She earned a Master’s degree which propelled her to start her own business, blending her sharp business acumen with her stained glass design brilliance. Passionate about shifting stained glass from a craft done by a few to an art form performed by many she started Mandarin Glass, her base of operation for nearly 50 years. She became the President of the Stained Glass Association of America and wrote the first Stained Glass manual as a way to both codify the “craft” knowledge of global experts and to provide pragmatic “how to” steps for all levels of people engaged in stained glass, from beginners to experts.
As if that weren’t enough, her travel bug returned. Motivated by her daughter Caroline, mom and dad travelled with Caroline several times to Europe after which they decided to go their own way. Mom and dad purchased a small church in Italy as their home base and over the next twenty years, made over 40 trips there – traveling by themselves and with friends, taking glass seminars throughout the country, and continuously learning from others via discussions and lengthy meals with many. She became fascinated by the precise order and colors of formal Italian gardens and decided to build a nearly exact replicate of one of her favorite Italian gardens as part of their home in Tacoma. Which she did. Yet another project of passion of hers.
At the core of Florence was her passion of learning, of engaging with people, of teaching, and of sharing what she knew and of listening to others as they shared in turn. She was a force of nature supported by an incredibly strong base of friends and family whom she loved with all her heart, and they her.
She will be missed.
She is survived by her two kids, Caroline and Ralph, and her grandkids, Nicole, JP, Jeremy, and Jacob.
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