Florence Hawthorne was born October 12, 1909. She went to primary school at Blue Beaver School grades 1-6 where her father, Leo Hawthorne, taught. Around 1921-22 when she was about 12 her father changed employment to the Wichita National Forest and Game Preserve and she continued school at Cache. She traveled each day from Headquarters to Cache, about 24 miles round trip, by Model T. This proved somewhat impractical so Pearl Mitchell, a friend and former neighbor, was hired to live with the Hawthorne's and teach the children. When Florence was old enough to drive they commuted to school at Cache. She played basketball for Cache on an outdoor, three-part, dirt court.

About five years later her father was transferred to the Ouachita Mountains National Forest Preserve in Arkansas. His buffalo horse, Moses, refused to load onto the train so her father rode him all the way to Arkansas. After a few months, her mother, Lydia May, brothers Joe and Don and her baby sister, Mary, went in the Model to Mena in Arkansas. Joe, who was 12, drove the entire distance. Florence stayed with Mrs. J. A. Perisho in Cache until the end of her junior year. Then she went on the train by herself to join the family. She graduated from high school in Mena, Arkansas.

In 1929, she entered nurse's training at the OU School of Nursing in Oklahoma City. After becoming a registered nurse she continued to work at university hospital. Later she worked at the University Hospital Annex for Children. During nurse's training she corresponded with Carl E. Elling who was in school at Kansas State University. Thinking Carl would be near Lawton at his parents' farm in 1934 she took a nursing job in Lawton. He continued work in Kansas at a fruit orchard. However, they married on December 26 and moved to Scott City, Kansas, where Carl was county agent.

The two had five children: Karen Sue, born June 11, 1940; Marel Lynn, born June 23, 1942; Ardeth Ann, born October 25, 1944; Cynthia Nell, born January 24, 1946; and Henry Carl, born November 4, 1948. In 1942, Carl was hired to teach Vocational Agriculture at Cache High School after the previous teacher was drafted to serve in World War II. This was fortunate for Carl and Florence because their house burned in the fall of that year. Carl and Florence continued to work their farm nine miles Southeast of Cache.

Florence resumed her nursing career in 1958 at Southwestern Hospital in Lawton. She also served as an industrial nurse at the missile sites beginning around 1961 and later at Fort Sill Hospital in the nursery. She retired after Hank, the youngest, graduated from high school at Cache.

Florence and Carl reared their children as members of Wesley Chapel Methodist Church Southeast of Cache. Florence was a member of Methodist Women's Society, now known as United Methodist Women. She was a member of Comanche County Home Demonstration Clubs and served as County Council president in the late 1950's. She represented the group at OSU and in Raleigh, NC.