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Florence was born in Corona, California, on March 18, 1924, to Ella J. (Prankey) and Elmer J. Spiering. She joined two sisters, and a brother arrived nine years later.
The family relocated several times while she was growing up, residing in South Dakota, Montana and Washington. She graduated from high school as Valedictorian at Darrington, Washington, in 1942.
She joined the Army in 1944 and served as a military police officer. She met Charles (Chuck) E. Boyce on a train while in the service and they were married in LaJunta, Colorado, in 1945. Five children were born from their union.
They later divorced.
Florence married James D. Carey in 1962 in Bonners Ferry. They were married 26 years when he passed away in 1988.
Florence worked 37 years at the Boundary Community Hospital, starting in 1967 as a tray girl in the kitchen. She worked her way up to be food service supervisor. She retired from that position in 1995 and continued to work two days a week tending the salad bar and baking cookies.
She is well known by many hospital employees for her great potato salad.
She enjoyed family get togethers, huckleberry picking, camping, fishing, cooking, music and dancing. In her later years, she enjoyed walking, cross word puzzles and going for rides to enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Florence moved to the Boundary Community Restorium in 2012 to recuperate from a broken shoulder. After a few weeks there, she decided that she did not want to live alone any longer and she resided at the Restorium until her death.
She enjoyed all the activities, bible studies, entertainment, residents and staff.
Florence had a great sense of humor, a quick wit and she was an inspiration to all. She gave her love freely and always saw the best in everyone. No one was a stranger to her. She will be greatly missed.
She was a member of the Friends of the Restorium, Hospital Auxiliary, VFW and the American Legion. She was also involved with the grief support group though the years. In 2013 she went on the Inland Northwest Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
Florence was preceded in death by her parents, sisters Margaret and Delores, brother Fred, daughter Terry, sons Jim and Curtis, husband Jim and grandchildren Dale Diller and Daniel Eby.
She is survived by daughters Gayle (Don) Alexander, Cathy (Robert) Wells and Barbara (Roy) Lefebvre, five grandchildren, six great grandchildren and seven great-great-grandchildren.