Florence "Flossie" Hastings

Florence Mary (Ames) Hastings (Flossie) died May 16 at Rivermead in Peterborough, New Hampshire. She was born September 29, 1918 in Waltham, Massachusetts, the daughter of Warren and Marion Ames. She graduated from Newton High School and Stoneleigh Junior College. On October 3, 1942, she married Dana B. Hastings of Framingham; he died in 2004. In Natick, where they lived from 1946 to 1980, Flossie was active in Girl Scouting as a troop leader, counselor at Camp Nacochwa, neighborhood leader, trainer of leaders, and trainer of trainers. With her husband, she attended two Girl Scout national encampments, one in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and one in Wyoming. She was a member of the First Congregational Church in Natick and volunteered for the Natick Service Council. After retiring to Rindge in 1980, she was again active in Girl Scouting and the Congregational Church. She volunteered at the Ingalls Memorial Library and was a member of the Monomonock Lake Sailing Association and the Camera Club of Fitchburg. She was particularly proud that she was in Girl Scouting for fifty years and awarded the Thanks Badge twice, once in Massachusetts and once in New Hampshire. In 1980, she traveled with her husband to Germany and Alaska. For over twenty years, they took their camper each winter to warmer places, returning in time for Rindge Town Meeting. In 2008 she made a ten-day trip to Japan. At Rivermead, where she moved in 2006, she developed a long-standing interest in water color painting. She is survived by three children, Sally A. Hastings (the late H. Reid Nolte) of West Lafayette, Indiana; Nancy L. Gunther (Bill) of Rindge, and Dana (Chip) Hastings (Kathy) of Rindge; four grandchildren, Brian Gunther (Jessica Miller) of Brooklyn, New York; Emily Gunther of Encinitas, California; Christopher Hastings (partner Katie Hoag) of Boston; and Lisa Hastings (Liz Upson) of Keene; and one great-grandson, Brice Gunther of Brooklyn. There will be a memorial service at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, at the First Congregational Church in Rindge. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in Flossie’s memory to the First Congregational Church of Rindge (6 Payson Hill Rd, Rindge, NH 03461) or Ingalls Memorial Library (PO Box 224 203 Main Street Rindge, NH 03461).