Sehl, Floydene (Norrod)
Floydene Norrod Sehl was born December 20, 1922, in Pleasant Hill, Tennessee. She died peacefully February 17, 2024, at the age of 101 in Delray Beach, Florida. Flo grew up in Crossville, Tennessee, in one of the original Cumberland Homestead properties, created by the New Deal program in 1934 and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After graduating from high school she enrolled at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville; family circumstances intervened, however, and she couldn't continue past her sophomore. She was accepted by American Airlines into their Flight Stewardess Corps, where she finished training in July 1944 and flew in DC 3s late in WWII. She loved being a “stew;” the training was rigorous and the schedule grueling, but she made lifelong friends and developed a sense of style and grace that lasted throughout her life.
While stationed in San Diego, she was swept off her feet by Philip Sehl, on his way to the South Pacific war theater as a newly minted Navy dental officer. They were married in June 1946 and settled together in his hometown of Wethersfield, CT, building a life that centered around their family, their community, skiing and golf. And Flo achieved her goal of completing her undergraduate education when she graduated Cum Laude from the University of Hartford in May 1972, with a Bachelor of Science in Education, followed by almost a decade of teaching at West Hill School in Rocky Hill. During the 1980s, she became a member of President Jimmy Carter's Friendship Force, traveling abroad with other like-minded citizens as part of a cross-cultural effort between nations. One of her strongest memories of those trips was traveling by bus late at night to arrive close to midnight with her group for a tightly controlled – and silent -- viewing of the Terracotta Army in the tomb of Qin Shi Huang not long after it was opened to the western world.
Flo was a talented watercolorist, a serious bridge player, a passionate golfer, and an enthusiastic skier. She and her husband were life-long members of Wethersfield Country Club in Connecticut, and The Club at Quail Ridge in Florida. They enjoyed numerous golf trips to Bermuda, Ireland, Scotland, and across the US with close friends, and skied in Vermont with many of those same friends in Hangdog Ski Club. After her husband's passing in 2013, she moved to Delray Beach, Florida, near where she and her husband had wintered for 35 years.
Throughout her long life, Flo exhibited grit and determination. She didn't know how to give up. She loved golf into her late 90s, long after she could no longer play. Her putting skill was legendary, but if the ball occasionally drifted past the cup, she would yell at it, “Come back, I forgive you!”
Flo leaves three children: Andrea Sehl, Kent, CT, Paul Sehl (Dr. Catherine Dillon), Palm Springs, CA, and Deborah Coons (Philip), Boynton Beach, FL; seven grandchildren: Katherine Venier (Michael), Jonathan Coons (Meagan), Lindsay Quella (Dr. Nicholas Haslett), Daniel Sehl, Timothy Coons (Jordan), James Sehl Quella (Sophie Vargas), and Cody Sehl; and 11 greatgrandchildren. D'Esopo Chapel, Wethersfield, CT was entrusted with final arrangements and the burial was private. Those who would like to remember Flo, may make a gift to The University of Hartford Annual Fund or The Cumberland Homestead Towers Association. The family wishes to extend most heartfelt thanks to Abbey Delray South Health Center, Floricare Registry and Services, and Trustbridge Hospice Foundation, who provided exceptional care and support to Miss Flo in her last years.