Florence "Flo" May (Felty) Winkler Robertson
September 11, 1945 — September 23, 2020
FLORENCE “FLO” W. ROBERTSON
Former Central City Mainstreet Program Facilitator Florence “Flo” May Felty Winkler Robertson, 75, passed away on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, at Fort Dodge Villa Care Center, Fort Dodge, Iowa from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 3, 2020, at the United Church of Christ in Central City. Friends may visit the family at the church for one hour before the service. All guests are required to wear a face mask and practice social distancing at the church. Her body was cremated and the ashes will be buried with other members of her family in at Pinecrest Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida, at a later date.
She is survived by her nephew, Timothy B. Felty, Central City; aunts, Annette Mannin of Greenacres, Florida, Margaret Witherow, of Lake Worth, and Barbara Belcher of Conover, North Carolina; many loving cousins throughout the United States, and extraordinary friends, Mary Martin of Columbus, Ohio and Jan Basemann of Cedar Rapids.
Florence was preceded in death by her parents, Fred Felty, Jr. and Florence B. Shamo Felty Schnopp; stepfather, Ernest J. Schnopp, Jr.; brother, Fred W. Felty; and extraordinary friends, Bob and Linda Austin.
Raised in Lake Worth, Florida, Florence graduated from Lake Worth High School in Lake Worth, Florida and the University of South Florida in Tampa. She married John Park Winkler, Jr. on June 24, 1967. They divorced in February of 1977. She then married James M. Robertson on October 21, 1982. They divorced in March 2007, and remained friends.
Her successful career in public relations, marketing, and management included positions at the Herald-Leader newspaper in Lexington, Kentucky, KCRG radio and TV, Coe College, Cedar Rapids Community Schools, Smulekoff’s Home Store, and Central City Mainstreet. The Mainstreet program brought Florence to Central City in 2002. As Program Director, she assisted community volunteers in the rebuilding and historic preservation of the downtown business area and to create a community which would attract businesses and new families. During her five years with Mainstreet, more than $2 million private dollars were invested in the purchase and renovation of downtown Central City buildings and businesses and 14 new businesses were opened.
Florence’s work brought her much local and regional recognition and three national awards for her writing, organization, public relation skills and volunteer activities, including the Iowa Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism.
An active volunteer, she served on the Executive Boards of the Linn County Farm Bureau, Home Fire Safety Task Force of Eastern Iowa, Cedar Rapids PTA City Council, and Grant Wood Area Chapter of American Red Cross. Florence organized the Cedar Rapids Public Relations Associates in 1976 and the Cedar Rapids Holiday Parade in 1985.
Memorials may be sent to 112 Fourth Street North, Central City, Iowa, 52214. Leave a message for the family at centralcityflo@aol.com or share a memory of Florence at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
Former Central City Mainstreet Program Facilitator Florence “Flo” May Felty Winkler Robertson, 75, passed away on Wednesday, September 23, 2020, at Fort Dodge Villa Care Center, Fort Dodge, Iowa from complications of Parkinson’s Disease. A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, October 3, 2020, at the United Church of Christ in Central City. Friends may visit the family at the church for one hour before the service. All guests are required to wear a face mask and practice social distancing at the church. Her body was cremated and the ashes will be buried with other members of her family in at Pinecrest Cemetery in Lake Worth, Florida, at a later date.
She is survived by her nephew, Timothy B. Felty, Central City; aunts, Annette Mannin of Greenacres, Florida, Margaret Witherow, of Lake Worth, and Barbara Belcher of Conover, North Carolina; many loving cousins throughout the United States, and extraordinary friends, Mary Martin of Columbus, Ohio and Jan Basemann of Cedar Rapids.
Florence was preceded in death by her parents, Fred Felty, Jr. and Florence B. Shamo Felty Schnopp; stepfather, Ernest J. Schnopp, Jr.; brother, Fred W. Felty; and extraordinary friends, Bob and Linda Austin.
Raised in Lake Worth, Florida, Florence graduated from Lake Worth High School in Lake Worth, Florida and the University of South Florida in Tampa. She married John Park Winkler, Jr. on June 24, 1967. They divorced in February of 1977. She then married James M. Robertson on October 21, 1982. They divorced in March 2007, and remained friends.
Her successful career in public relations, marketing, and management included positions at the Herald-Leader newspaper in Lexington, Kentucky, KCRG radio and TV, Coe College, Cedar Rapids Community Schools, Smulekoff’s Home Store, and Central City Mainstreet. The Mainstreet program brought Florence to Central City in 2002. As Program Director, she assisted community volunteers in the rebuilding and historic preservation of the downtown business area and to create a community which would attract businesses and new families. During her five years with Mainstreet, more than $2 million private dollars were invested in the purchase and renovation of downtown Central City buildings and businesses and 14 new businesses were opened.
Florence’s work brought her much local and regional recognition and three national awards for her writing, organization, public relation skills and volunteer activities, including the Iowa Governor’s Award for Outstanding Volunteerism.
An active volunteer, she served on the Executive Boards of the Linn County Farm Bureau, Home Fire Safety Task Force of Eastern Iowa, Cedar Rapids PTA City Council, and Grant Wood Area Chapter of American Red Cross. Florence organized the Cedar Rapids Public Relations Associates in 1976 and the Cedar Rapids Holiday Parade in 1985.
Memorials may be sent to 112 Fourth Street North, Central City, Iowa, 52214. Leave a message for the family at centralcityflo@aol.com or share a memory of Florence at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.
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