Obituary of Sister Dorothy Ann Flori

Dorothy May Flori was born in Waco, Texas, on September 18, 1925, to Aloysius William and Barbara Teresa Kohl Flori. She died on February 26, 2018, at Our Lady of Victory Center in Fort Worth.In Waco, she and her siblings attended Sacred Heart Academy where she met the Sisters of Saint Mary of Namur.In her Vocation Story we read, “When my senior teacher, Sister Genevieve, came to Waco for a visit, I went to see her just to visit because she was always interesting and friendly. I dressed up for the occasion. When Sister Genevieve commented on how nice I looked, instead of saying, “Thank you,”… I said, “How do you think I would look in a habit?” I wasn’t thinking about entering the convent until that moment. When I got outside, I looked to God in the heavens with ‘I really do want to …’ which my mom and some of my friends already knew.”After a year working as a long distance telephone operator and sales person, Dorothy May said, “I realized something was missing in my heart,” and she entered the Sisters of Saint Mary on September 5, 1943, taking the religious name Dorothy Ann.She began her studies at OLV College in Fort Worth, and earned degrees in European and American History from St. Louis University. She obtained a Texas Teacher’s Certificate and a Texas Administrator’s Certificate. Her leadership skills were soon recognized by the community and she served as principal, teacher of grades K-12 and administrator in Sisters of Saint Mary Schools in Fort Worth, Houston, and Dallas as well as Schulenberg, Texas. She has been a principal for over 43 years.Sister Dorothy Ann wrote, “I have spent my life’s energy as a student, teacher or principal all of my religious life. A teacher helps young children and teens grow in knowledge and wisdom, accept responsibility and practice virtue. I can help others do things they cannot do by themselves.” The children whom she loved and taught have always been her top priority.Sister Dorothy Ann continued, “There is no way in any other vocation than that of consecrated religious life that my relationship with God could be as developed as it is.…The Sisters have the privilege of setting aside time every day during which they commune with God. Knowing and sharing with all the Sisters, listening to and being listened to, sharing the joys and sorrows of others and knowing their friends and families with their joys and sorrows—all these are the gifts and burdens of community life.”Sister Dorothy Ann is survived by a brother, Father David Flori in the Dallas Diocese, numerous family members, the Sisters of her religious congregation, as well as many friends for whom she has always been an inspiration of dedication, simplicity, and joy.