davidflanders
Article on Grandma in Rocky Mountain News
Lea Flanders indulged passions for journalism and world travel
By Rebecca Jones, Special To The Rocky
October 5, 2007
Lea Flanders, who first took up journalism at age 41 and proceeded to write for the Longmont Daily Times-Call for the next 48 years, died on Sept. 17 after a brief battle with cancer. She was 91.
Mrs. Flanders, who retired from writing in 2005, worked as a community news reporter, special sections editor, columnist and photographer. She won many writing awards over the years. She served as president of Colorado Press Women for two years, and she was the first woman to serve as president of the Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi. She is in Who's Who of American Women and Foremost Women of Communications.
"She loved the press in Colorado, and everyone in the media," said her daughter, Francea Phillips, of Longmont. Phillips said one of the highlights of her mother's life was organizing a group of 15 newswomen to attend the United Nations' Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995.
It was journalism that led Mrs. Flanders to discover one of her other great passions: world travel. It was sometime during the late 1950s that the newspaper challenged her to set up and lead a tour of Europe.
"She started traveling then, and she never stopped," her daughter said. "She's been around the world four times."
Phillips said family members are attempting to make a list of all the countries to which her mother traveled in her life. "So far, we're up to three pages. We believe she visited nearly every country."
Just this spring, Mrs. Flanders completed a three-month round-the-world cruise with her grandson, Andrew Phillips.
Mrs. Flanders also brought the world to Longmont. Hundreds of people stayed at her home while visiting Longmont, some for a night, some for a year or more. She sponsored two exchange students from Africa who spent a year with her, and she hosted a Japanese student, a British girl and a Swiss girl.
"She was constantly fostering an international spirit," Phillips said. "She totally believed the world was her hometown."
Born in Hugo, Mrs. Flanders graduated from high school in Colorado Springs and worked her way through college as a cosmetologist. She received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Colorado in 1941, and later did graduate study at Columbia University in New York.
She married Frank Flanders, a banker, in 1941. Soon after their marriage, her husband enlisted in the military during World War II, and Mrs. Flanders spent the war folding parachutes and working at the Lockheed Corp. in California.
The Flanderses returned to Longmont in 1947 and became an integral part of the community. Among the organizations in which Mrs. Flanders participated were the Red Hat Club, the Sunshine Club, the Longmont Arts Council, the Longmont Theatre Company and the Newcomers Club. "To her deathbed, she was still a member of the Newcomers Club," Phillips said. "She insisted on remaining a member all her years because she said that's where all the exciting people start."
Mrs. Flanders was preceded in death by her husband, in 1998, and by an infant son, David Harris Flanders. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by a son, Fred Flanders, and his wife, Melody, of Westminster; grandchildren Tiffany Merlo and Andrew Phillips, of Longmont, David Flanders, of London, and Rachael Flanders, of Westminster; and two great-grandchildren, Alexander and Benjamin Merlo.
A memorial service was Sept. 25 in Longmont. Contributions may be made to the St. Vrain Historical Society's Hover Home Project or a charity of choice in care of Ahlberg Funeral Chapel, 326 Terry St., Longmont, CO 80501.
Article on Grandma in Rocky Mountain News
Lea Flanders indulged passions for journalism and world travel
By Rebecca Jones, Special To The Rocky
October 5, 2007
Lea Flanders, who first took up journalism at age 41 and proceeded to write for the Longmont Daily Times-Call for the next 48 years, died on Sept. 17 after a brief battle with cancer. She was 91.
Mrs. Flanders, who retired from writing in 2005, worked as a community news reporter, special sections editor, columnist and photographer. She won many writing awards over the years. She served as president of Colorado Press Women for two years, and she was the first woman to serve as president of the Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi. She is in Who's Who of American Women and Foremost Women of Communications.
"She loved the press in Colorado, and everyone in the media," said her daughter, Francea Phillips, of Longmont. Phillips said one of the highlights of her mother's life was organizing a group of 15 newswomen to attend the United Nations' Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995.
It was journalism that led Mrs. Flanders to discover one of her other great passions: world travel. It was sometime during the late 1950s that the newspaper challenged her to set up and lead a tour of Europe.
"She started traveling then, and she never stopped," her daughter said. "She's been around the world four times."
Phillips said family members are attempting to make a list of all the countries to which her mother traveled in her life. "So far, we're up to three pages. We believe she visited nearly every country."
Just this spring, Mrs. Flanders completed a three-month round-the-world cruise with her grandson, Andrew Phillips.
Mrs. Flanders also brought the world to Longmont. Hundreds of people stayed at her home while visiting Longmont, some for a night, some for a year or more. She sponsored two exchange students from Africa who spent a year with her, and she hosted a Japanese student, a British girl and a Swiss girl.
"She was constantly fostering an international spirit," Phillips said. "She totally believed the world was her hometown."
Born in Hugo, Mrs. Flanders graduated from high school in Colorado Springs and worked her way through college as a cosmetologist. She received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Colorado in 1941, and later did graduate study at Columbia University in New York.
She married Frank Flanders, a banker, in 1941. Soon after their marriage, her husband enlisted in the military during World War II, and Mrs. Flanders spent the war folding parachutes and working at the Lockheed Corp. in California.
The Flanderses returned to Longmont in 1947 and became an integral part of the community. Among the organizations in which Mrs. Flanders participated were the Red Hat Club, the Sunshine Club, the Longmont Arts Council, the Longmont Theatre Company and the Newcomers Club. "To her deathbed, she was still a member of the Newcomers Club," Phillips said. "She insisted on remaining a member all her years because she said that's where all the exciting people start."
Mrs. Flanders was preceded in death by her husband, in 1998, and by an infant son, David Harris Flanders. In addition to her daughter, she is survived by a son, Fred Flanders, and his wife, Melody, of Westminster; grandchildren Tiffany Merlo and Andrew Phillips, of Longmont, David Flanders, of London, and Rachael Flanders, of Westminster; and two great-grandchildren, Alexander and Benjamin Merlo.
A memorial service was Sept. 25 in Longmont. Contributions may be made to the St. Vrain Historical Society's Hover Home Project or a charity of choice in care of Ahlberg Funeral Chapel, 326 Terry St., Longmont, CO 80501.