Carmen Didier Davis Germon Flottman passed away Aug. 30, 2022, at 101.5 years old. She was born Jan. 15, 1921, in Frontenac, Kansas.
She married Arnold Flottman when she was 82 years old and moved from San Diego to Pittsburg, Kansas, in 2003. In January 2021, Carmen moved back to San Diego to be near her daughters – Vicky, Mary Ellen, Babette, and their families. In February 2022, Carmen moved to Ridgeview Assisted Living.
When she moved to San Diego, Arnold moved back to Ohio to live near his daughter Irma, wife Robin, and children Emily and Ella. Arnold passed in January 2022, some seven months before Carmen.
There were many good memories of Arnold and Carmen's time in Kansas and the annual trips made for Masonic and American Legion Conferences. She also made her regular trips back to San Diego to see family and friends. She was blessed to attend the wedding of each of her grandchildren and nieces that are married. She was also a big part of graduations.
Carmen was very proud of Frontenac and collected historical information on its coal mining origins. Her family tree is full of many colorful characters that lived in the Pittsburg and Frontenac area. This included her mother and father – Florence (Aunt Gay) and John Adrian Didier. It was a big family with grandparents, uncles, and cousins often living with the Didier family in a two-bedroom house. There are many stories of Aunt Gay's antics and the bootlegging business in Crawford County.
Carmen was one of six children, with only three making it to adulthood. John Henry and John Adrian died as babies and her sister Julie passed at 16 from a car accident. Her wonderful brother, Jimmy, died a few years ago and provided many of her favorite stories as a young girl and wonderful times after she moved back to Kansas. The last sibling still living, Carole Jean, was mom's "little" sister. Carmen was 10 years her senior.
Carmen loved being on the go and exploring. She was to leave Kansas in her early 20s and not return to live there until her 80s. Her first stop was Washington, DC. As an employee for the State Department, she was to be one of the first women to work for the United Nations. She would take assignments in Brazil and live on the Amazon River with access only by plane or boat. She would move on to take an assignment in the Philippines and help sell off sunken warships to pay off monies owed the US.
Carmen was again in Washington, DC, and planning to move to Europe on another assignment. Then she met Victor Stewart Davis "Dave" and all plans were changed.
They were married on April 23, 1949, and within a year, Mark made them three. Being in the Navy, Dave and Carmen moved many times. After Mark's birth, they moved to Key West, Florida, and Vicky and Babette made the Davis clan five. At Eglin Air Force Base, Mary Ellen was born, rounding the Davis clan out to an even six. The family was then off to Toms River, New Jersey, and then California.
In California, they moved to China Lake in the Mojave Desert. She and Dave were on bowling teams in China Lake and then San Diego. Carmen was finally settled in San Diego, where she remained for most of her family life. Unfortunately, Dave became ill and, after two years in the hospital, passed Sept. 1966 at the age of 46. They had been married for 17 years. He is buried in Fort Rosecrans, and when Carmen moved back to San Diego, she visited there often.
Carmen continued to work for the federal government, play bridge, run a credit union, travel, and attend Charger games. In 1972, Ed Germon joined his mom's family. Ed and Carmen were to spend some 30 years together. They traveled often, with cruises to Alaska and trips to Laughlin and Las Vegas.
Carmen's friends and family will continue with the storytelling and sharing of her wonderful life on Sept. 25, 2022, in San Diego at Mary Ellen's house. The final celebration of Carmen will be on Oct. 22, with a Rosary at 10:30 a.m. and Service at 11 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Frontenac, Kansas, followed by the burial at the family plot in the Frontenac Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be hosted by the family at the Bath-Naylor Funeral home in Pittsburg, Kansas, at 1 p.m. Oct. 22. All who knew Carmen are welcome.
