Eugene L. Florang, 09 Feb 1924 - 27 Dec 2016

FLORANG, WEIMER, TOMAINO, MOONEY, SLICK, TEEHAN, OSPINA-KORTENKAMP, LANDS, WALKER, NILLES

Posted By: Sandy Ficken (email)
Date: 2/23/2017 at 16:15:52

Eugene (Jim) L. Florang, 92, Santa Clara, Calif., formerly of North English, died Dec. 27, 2016. At his request, no service or memorial will be held.

He was born Feb. 9, 1924, the son of Leo a.k.a. Lee and Blanche (Weimer) Florang in Hinkletown, east of North English. He attended both elementary and high school in North English. He served in Europe while in the 302nd SOB of the 7th Army during WWII. While there, he was told to put his affairs in order because he had been diagnosed with tuberculosis. He was in and out of several veterans hospitals for treatment for many years. His last hospitalization was in 1954 when his first child was just six weeks old.

His first marriage was to Jennie Tomaino, from 1946-1948, until she was killed in a train accident in Long Branch, New Jersey. He was then the devoted husband of Leonora (Lee) Mooney Florang, who passed away in January 2004.

Before he left his beloved Iowa, he worked at Smith Motor Company with Sam and Laverne Newberry. After Jim moved to New Jersey he had an auto repair shop with Johnny Sorrentino. He met Lee (Leonora) Mooney at the parts house where he went to buy parts for the cars he repaired. They were married in May 1952 in West End, N.J. Later that year they moved to California. He graduated from the College of San Mateo and then worked at Litton Industries on the development of the first microwave oven. He then worked on the Corona and Hexagon spy satellites at Perkin-Elmer Industries. Lee and Jim moved into their Santa Clara home in February 1958 and he lived there the rest of his life.

He was an amateur radio operator. WA6GRV were his call letters. In his later years, he would listen to KCEA radio (big band music) while he watched TV. Every year he would grow tomatoes, pumpkins, squash and other vegetables in his Santa Clara backyard “farm.” You could take the boy out of the farm, but you couldn’t take the farm out of the man.

He always had something to say to everyone he met. He liked to say that he “didn’t have much of a future, but he had a hell of a past.” If you knew Jim, you knew that to be true. He loved greatly, was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.

He was a loving father to Laura (Lands) Slick, Beth Florang and Claudia Teehan and surrogate-daughter, Liz Ospina-Kortenkamp; grandfather to Brian Lands, Meghann (Lands) Walker and Emily Teehan; great-grandfather to Noah, Levi and Lily Walker. He is also survived by his sister, Norma Jean Nilles; brother, Donald Florang; several nieces, nephews and many friends.

Williamsburg Journal Tribune, 11 Jan 2017 pg 5