South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Former mayor of Dania Beach dies
DANIA BEACH — Former Dania Beach mayor, hospital administrator, sportswoman, and author Patricia A. “Patty” Flury has died. She was 84.
Known as an inspiring but no-nonsense boss, she was just as determined during her long battle with cancer until her death on April 2.
Flury was best known as a Dania Beach commissioner and three-time mayor from 2001 through 2013, but she started out in health care.
She worked at Memorial Regional Hospital for over 40 years, starting as a lab technician when the hospital had fewer than 80 beds. She worked her way up to being the Administrator, overseeing renovations and additions that grew the hospital to over 800 beds. She also served as the chief operating officer of the Memorial Healthcare System.
She retired from the hospital system in 1998 and was elected mayor of Dania Beach in 2001, where she helped steer the city to financial stability.
“The city was definitely in the red and they needed to get their financial house in order,” said Anne Castro, a former fellow commissioner and mayor. “Definitely gave me a platform where I had one less thing to worry about when I got up there.”
Born in Massachusetts, the youngest of three children, Flury’s family moved to South Florida when she was 6-years-old. She graduated from Miami Edison High School and studied to be a laboratory technologist at a Miami technical school.
She joined the Greater Dania Beach Chamber of Commerce at 63 and was appointed to several city boards, including the Blue Ribbon Bond Committee where she spent six months developing an $18 million bond issue to improve the parks and neighborhoods in Dania Beach.
That led her to run for the city commission. She served three terms as mayor in
2001-2002, 2006-2007, and
2011-2012.
She abruptly quit in the middle of a city commission meeting in June 2013. She would later blame her unexpected exit on Patrick Phipps, a former political opponent who had gone to great lengths to try to show she did not live in Dania Beach by videotaping her comings and goings.
“I’m very surprised and hurt by it,” then-Commissioner Al Jones told the South Florida Sun Sentinel at the time. “This is someone we don’t need to lose.”
The City of Dania Beach expressed its condolences to Flury’s family and friends through social media.
“Pat will be remembered as a strong leader and avid advocate for employees and for being heavily involved in the community,” it read.
“It’s sad,” Castro said. “I think her contributions to the city and Memorial Healthcare were astronomical.”
Flury went on to write several books in retirement. She enjoyed many activities including tennis, golf, and fishing.
She and her partner of 60 years, Lee, had lots of adventures together; one of their favorites was taking their boat to the Bahamas with their nephew Patrick. In addition to her talents in business and sports, Flury studied and enjoyed playing the piano.
Flury is survived by Lee, her sister Phyllis (Henry), brother Vinny (Odile) nieces and nephews, her cat Ginger, and friends.
A private service was held for her family.