LUTEY, Florence Harriette

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, May 08, 2012 Florence Harriette Olsen Lutey passed away in peace on April 13, 2012, at The Margaret T. Morris Adult Care Center in Prescott, Ariz. Florence, a strong, kind, caring and loving mother, was born April 21, 1921, in McCabe, Mont. McCabe was (and still is) less than a wide spot in the road, a few miles from the North Dakota border and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation near the Canadian border. Florence's mother, Hattie Eschenbacher Olsen, was the daughter of German immigrants, the Eschenbachers, who immigrated to eastern Montana in the 1890s. Her mother, Hattie, had seven brothers and sisters who lived and survived on a 150-acre homestead near McCabe, Mont. Her father, Elmer Olsen, was a Norwegian immigrant from Armstrong, Iowa, who passed away at a military hospital from a condition contracted during World War I, when Florence was 12 years old. Florence and her mother, Hattie, were left to raise Florence's two younger brothers, Howard Claude Olsen and Edward Benjamin Olsen. Florence's mother had little education and Florence assumed the reigns to look out for, and guide, her younger brothers. She met her husband, Selmer G. Lutey, in Butte, Mont., while working her way through business school. She worked for the draft board in Butte where she drafted her husband and both younger brothers and sent them off to World War II. Fortunately, they all survived and came home, although the one brother, Howard, served two years in the South Pacific. Florence and her husband had two children, a son Selmer D. (Sal) Lutey, Jr., who lives and practices law in Prescott; and a daughter, Layne Wilkey, who lives in Phoenix with her husband Terry and their two children, Devin and Auvrie. Florence and husband Selmer (Sal Sr.) moved to Prescott in 1967 and purchased and operated the Ford dealership until Selmer passed away in 1974. Both Florence and her husband, Selmer, grew up during the Great Depression in extraordinarily poor families and survived and learned to work through the troubles and difficulties of the time to become successful, during which time they instilled the qualities of hard work and perseverance in their children and extended family. They were both kind and caring parents who led by example. We celebrate their lives and will miss them always. Florence's family wishes to especially thank Carla, Beverly and the staff at Northern Arizona Fiduciaries for their professional and caring manner in which they assisted Florence over the last months of her life. The family would also like to express their sincere appreciation to John and all of the staff at Margaret T. Morris Adult Care Center who assisted and watched out for Florence during her stay there. They took care of her like a member of their own family and the Lutey-Wilkey family will always be appreciative of their caring. Information provided by survivors.