Fleurette began her journey in nursing with purpose and determination, earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saint Louis University in 1960. Even as a student, she devoted herself to caring for patients at Firmin Desloge Hospital. There, she continued her service after graduation, balancing the demands of a new career with the joys of married life and the birth of her first child. Within those hospital walls, she also met the medical resident who would become her husband—beginning a lifelong partnership rooted in healing and care.

When Fleurette later stepped away from full‑time nursing to raise their three children, her heart never left the profession. Nursing was woven into her identity, a thread running through her life just as it had through the generations before and after her. Her mother had served as a nurse during the 1919 Spanish influenza pandemic, and that legacy lived on not only in Fleurette but in her daughter, who also chose the nursing path.

From 1990 to 1997, Fleurette returned to the medical field she loved, working side by side with her husband in his busy cardiology practice. In those years, she again brought comfort, skill, and calm assurance to those who needed it—reaffirming her lifelong commitment to care.

Fleurette spoke often and proudly of being a nurse. To her, nursing was never simply a career; it was a way of life. Through her service, her family, her example, and her deep devotion, she carried forward a legacy of compassion that began long before her and continues long after.

We honor Fleurette for a life lived in the true spirit of Florence Nightingale—one of service, dedication, and love. Her light endures in the generations she inspired and the countless lives she touched.