RAPID CITY -- Florence Steen, 88, Rapid City, formerly of Faith, died of congestive heart failure on Sunday, May 11, 2008, at the Rapid City Regional Hospital Auxiliary Hospice House. Florence Ann McGuire was born Feb. 28, 1920, to Emmett and Mary (ORourke) McGuire. She was the sixth of seven children, growing up on the McGuire homestead west of Faith. She attended schools in and around Edson and later Faith. She stayed home a year before going to high school so that she and her younger sister, Gladys, could go to school at the same time. They graduated from Faith High School in 1939. After graduation, she worked as a babysitter for a family in Red Elm. She would ride into Faith, then catch the train to Red Elm only returning home on weekends. In 1940, the love of her life showed up at her doorstep when brothers Laverne and Glendale Keegan brought along their friend Lawrence Steen to the McGuire home, where they picked up their dates, Mary and Gladys, for a country dance. Steen caught sight of Florence and asked her to go to the Maurine dance; she accepted. She married Lawrence Steen on July 19, 1941, in Sturgis. They received a special dispensation to marry from Pope Pius XII since Lawrence was not Catholic. They honeymooned in Sturgis for one night. The honeymoon had to be curtailed as the car broke down and took half of their money to get it repaired. They worked on a number of ranches in the Faith area before buying their own ranch 20 miles southeast of Faith. In 1944, Florences mother died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 64. Florence wrote in her diary, it was one of the saddest days of my life. She kept a daily journal for many years, making note of all important events in each day. Their only child, Kathleen, was born to the couple on July 29, 1946. Chasing after her daughter kept her busy. She had to race to hang up her wash before her little girl found some hole to tumble into or a snake for stomping. Florence once had to heft a cinderblock at a skunk to keep it from attacking her child. It was a perfect hit. Unfortunately, it stunk up the entire yard and house for days. Along with child rearing and housekeeping, she developed a reputation as an excellent cook, excelling at fresh baked bread, rolls, peach pie and desserts as well as roasts and stews. She combed the chokecherry trees and current bushes for gallons of fruit to make preserves, jams and jellies. She also kept chickens for their eggs and an occasional soup. They would often visit her in-laws, who lived about five miles away. They would play cut-throat games of Pitch and Whist. Florence would raise the bid to unreachable heights as her male-card-playing opponents erupted into a chorus of laments, shouts and curses. She was ruthless, but family members were always secretly hoping to be her partner as she usually won. They eventually sold their ranch in 1957, living briefly in Faith before moving to Fort Pierre and Selby, where she worked for three years in the office when the family owned the towns sale barn. She also worked in restaurants starting out as a dishwasher and later working her way up to becoming an excellent waitress. They also moved on to ranches near Ottumwa and Kadoka. It was during this time she, Lawrence and her daughters family found themselves stuck for 24 hours in a raging blizzard in their car three-quarters of mile from her in-laws homestead. They survived the blizzard, but had to stay at the ranchwithout electricityfor about a week while the men dug the road out by the shovelful. They moved to Rapid City in 1970. Lawrence worked as a custodian for the School of Mines & Technology while Florence babysat their granddaughter. Her husband became a bee hobbyist, which developed into his livelihood. Florence rose early each morning to cook a large breakfast and pack lunches that would sustain her husband, a diabetic, throughout the day. They lived in several houses before building their own home on Wood Avenue in North Rapid. They also started to travel across the nation to vacation in Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas and the Southwest. She loved walking, which she did once or often twice a day. She had a Spa 80 membership and would drive her car to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center parking lot then walk the remainder of the way to the downtown spa. While there she developed friendships with the other members. She enjoyed readingreading daily and weekly newspapers for 38 years as well as historical books and novels; she also tuned in to watch her favorite daytime dramas. Summer evenings would find Florence and Lawrence seated on lawn chairs in the front yard and visiting with neighbors and sharing a cup of coffee and a sweet morsel. Throughout it all, she was a devout Catholic attending Mass regularly at Saint Therese Church. When all four of the McGuire sisters had children, each summer they would rent cabins at Alts Cabins in Faith and spend two weeks together while the six school-age children all attended sister school at St. Joseph Catholic Church. It was a joyous time for all. She moved into Holiday Hills in 2000. In early 2007, she fell severely spraining both ankles then suffered a stroke in June of that year. She moved into the Clarkson Mountain View Health Care Facility in September. In February, 2008 she and her husband celebrated her last birthday with angel food cake, pizza and coffee. While holding hands, she mentioned to Lawrence that he looked nice. When are you going to get your hair cut? She loved animals and at one time, while on the ranch, had seven pure white kittens. She had named each one, but she was the only one who could tell them apart. Their last pet was Clarence, a Siamese cat who thrived for 21 years under her loving care. Two daschunds, Rupert and Baxter, later joined the family. They would inevitably bring a sparkle to her blue Irish eyes whenever they visited. She was preceded in death by her parents, three brothers: Ozzie, Don and Mike McGuire; and three sisters: Mary Keegan, Margaret Boekhoff and Gladys Keegan. Survivors include her husband, Lawrence Steen, New Underwood; daughter, Kathleen and Wayne Krause, Rapid City; granddaughter, Lisa and Jeff Torkelson, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; brother-in-law: Albert Jr. and Lila Steen, Faith; and sister-in-law: Helene Steen, Rapid City; nephew Jim and Beverly Keegan, Gregory; nieces: Joanne and Bob Silbernagel, Rapid City; Colleen and Tom Mathers, Houston; Nan Cee and Buster Maynard, Box Elder; Lou Ann Steen, Faith; Mary and Steve Lewis, Prescott, Ariz.; and Jomay Steen, Rapid City. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday with a wake service at 7 p.m. at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home, 2700 Jackson Blvd. The Rev. William Zandri will lead Mass of Christian burial at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 15, at the Church of St. Therese, the Little Flower, 532 Adams St. Burial will be in the Pine Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery. A memorial has been established to Rapid City Regional Hospital Auxiliary Hospice House. Friends may sign online guest register and offer condolences at www.osheimschmidt.com.