Florence Lucille Larson was born on March 20, 1913 at home on a farm in North Hero Township north of Walnut Grove, the fifth of seven children. She graduated from WGHS in 1932, valedictorian of her class. After completing normal teachers college, she taught country school for six years. On Thanksgiving Day, 1938 she married Stewart Baack. They lived in Tracy for 12 years before moving to Walnut Grove where they farmed and then owned Baack Tree Service.
After her husband’s death in 2003, Florence moved to Rochester where she lived independently until, at age ninety-nine and a half, she transitioned to foster care in a private home. She died there with grace on August 13, 2017.
Florence enjoyed reading, dining out, writing stories and essays, and visiting her children. She traveled frequently to Seattle where her eldest daughter lives. A favorite vacation was to Chichen Itza, Mexico where she watched the shadow of a snake slither down a Mayan pyramid to fertilize the earth on the first day of spring, her birthday.
She is survived by her three children, Bonnie (Lee) Pendergrass, Edmonds, WA, Kathy (David) Henke and Rebecca (Gregory) Holmes, both of Rochester.
She is buried at the Tracy Cemetery next to her husband of 65 years and near her sister and best friend, Myrtle Snyder. Local arrangements were handled by Nelson-Hillestad Funeral and Cremation Service of Redwood Falls.