Florence Eloise Dawdy Sodowsky

Florence Eloise Dawdy Sodowsky, 97, retired bookkeeper, died on Friday, October 19, 2012 at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 26, 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Derby, 208 N. Georgie, with burial to follow at El Paso Cemetery. Visitation at Smith Mortuary, 1415 N. Rock Road.

Florence was born on August 27, 1915, at the family farm, in Jewell County, KS to Una and D.R. Dawdy. After graduation from Jewell Rural High School, she worked at Beloit Community Hospital. She came to Wichita in 1942 and worked at Boeing as a riveter on B-29 airplanes. After the war ended, Florence attended business college and was employed by Ward’s, Western Auto, Jayhawk Insurance and several other companies. She married John Sodowsky in 1953 and they came to Derby in 1956. She continued to work as a bookkeeper until retirement in 1984. Florence began driving a car at age 12 and continued to drive for the next 84 years; she was never involved in an accident and never received a ticket. A voracious reader, Florence will be remembered for her strong-willed independence and her lifelong intellectual curiosity.

Florence was preceded in death by her parents; husband John; brother Loren; and her dear friends Ruth Walker and Maxine Gerhardt. She is survived by daughter Kay Sodowsky, of Blue Springs, MO; niece Martha Souchek of Concordia, KS; and cousin Ismael (Susan) Heron of Wichita. Memorials to the Kansas Humane Society and Derby Public Library.