Victoria "Vickie" Florence

Victoria “Vickie” Lynn Minogue Florence, 69 passed away on April 18, 2025 at Kindred Hospital. Vickie was born on July 19, 1955 to Raymond “Rip” and Irene Smith Minogue. She was preceded in death by both her parents, her daughter, Dana Nicole Florence, her sisters Shirley Wooldridge Spurlock and Patricia Minogue Simmon, and her pit bull Zoe George. She is survived by her son Jason Florence, daughter, Stephanie “Rae” Hester (Patrick Yost) and her favorite child, Jeremy Florence (Emily); her grandchildren Jamie Hester, Samantha Hester, Lucas Hester, Sophia Florence, and Emilia Florence; her sister in law, Jennifer Florence, her sweet and handsome granddog Curtis Loew, and one mean cat named Josephine. She will miss tremendously her nieces and nephews, Theresa Ashley (Mark), Don Simmon (Jamie), Kevin Simmon (Fe), Tiffany Wagner (Chris), and John Florence; her festival husband Rick “Pops” Thomas, the Thelma-to-her-Louise, Cheryl Thomas, former son in law Rusty Hester (who she swears hung the moon- and perfectly level by the way) her friend Lynn, college basketball, all songs by Jelly Roll, all songs by Kenny Rogers (but mostly his Christmas albums-even in July,) her cups of hot tea in the mornings, her love/hate relationship with Alexa, jumbo print word searches, and hyperfixating on various interests that brought her joy, with FRIENDS reruns (literally all day every day) being her longest running and most favorite. Known to most on Facebook as “Helen,” and the subject of her daughter’s “#WhatTheHelen” blog style posts, Vickie made friends and admirers from far and wide. They cheered her on when she was sick and fighting death numerous times, celebrated each victory with her , and laughed at every detail of her day to day escapades and adventures. Vickie loved asking her grandchildren what they wanted for Christmas at least every other day beginning January 1 of each year. Each person had their own page in her notebook, their name proudly displayed at the top, followed by a list of their wants and needs, followed by another list of what she thought they should want or need instead. She would write and re-write the lists, and within a couple of days she’d lose them and would have to start all over again. Vickie worked for Pediatric Associates of Louisville as a medical assistant for 30 years before retiring and moving to Corydon to live with her daughter. There she spent her days barreling through the house as she learned to navigate life in a wheelchair while spoiling her animals and grandchildren rotten. Her favorite household chore was laundry and she took pride in making sure that her son-in-law, Patrick, and her grandson Lucas, always had clean, fresh clothes ready to wear. Often, she skipped Rae’s laundry all together for this reason. Her absence has left a wrinkled disheveled mess in both our hearts and our wardrobes. Vickie died from pulmonary fibrosis, a terrible lung disease that was initially misdiagnosed as emphysema 4 years ago. This is mentioned only to make 2 very specific points, as the misdiagnosis did not make a difference or contribute to her end result. Nonetheless, she still wanted you to know that: She was 100% correct when she told the doctors and anyone else who would listen that she did NOT have emphysema, even when they tried to show her scans and test results to prove it. So, nee-ner-nee-ner-boo-boo, docs. Even though she died from lung disease, she never smoked a day in her life. But, between parents that chain smoked unfiltered Pall Malls, rheumatoid arthritis, and a couple hundred blue haired biddies that frequented the weekly bingo she ran at St Cecilia’s for many years, she may as well have smoked a couple packs a day. Vickie learned that she was not going to beat this disease exactly 7 days before she died. Those 7 days were filled with precious time and moments. 7 days is in no way enough time to say goodbye to someone you love, but it was more than a lot of people are given and for that, we are thankful. As we sat around her bed one evening she dismissed us all for the night saying “a watched pot never dies-or however the saying goes.” If only that were true…we would have watched forever. Funeral mass will be Thursday April 24, 2025 at 10:00am Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 3511 Rudd Avenue, Louisville, Ky. Visitation will be Wednesday April 23, 2025 from 2:00-8:00pm Owen Funeral Home, 5317 Dixie Highway. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Foundation.

Victoria "Vickie" Florence

July 19, 1955 - April 18, 2025