Dear Friends of Brighton,
As the Brighton Centennial Committee, we have the sad duty to share with you the news that Floss Waltman (President of the Brighton Committee from 1990-2011) passed away on Monday, November 29th, from complications of a massive stroke suffered on Thanksgiving.
Floss was deeply committed to the success of Brighton and contributed so much time, energy, effort and prayer to keep Brighton "Heavenly Father's Summer Home." We had planned to honor her at next summer's celebration. We know she will be with us in spirit and are thankful that we had shared with her our plans, prior to her death. Reenie and Kimball Fisher, who are writing a book on Brighton for the Centennial, also had the opportunity to interview her extensively, earlier this year. Below is an excerpt from that book:
In 1988, Floss Waltman (shown right of Mimi Stewart [Apple] during a 2021 interview with the authors) was in the middle of a difficult divorce that drove her to her knees. She prayed that the Lord would give her a substantive calling to help others and forget her worries. Two weeks later, when her Stake President called her to lead the Brighton Executive Committee, she exclaimed, “If I could, I’d jump over that desk and hug you!” (Waltman) “I am who I am today because of Brighton,” she explains. Reflecting on her years of service and inestimable contributions to the camp, she bears her testimony about how the Lord is in charge, and how He will help you do the things that need to be done. For example, when the Forest Service required that more than 300 trees be removed from the camp lease site, somehow Floss and her grandchildren managed to do the job themselves, build an amphitheater with the logs, and save the tight camp budget more than $20,000.00. She also saved nearly that much by painting the lodge only with the help of a few other volunteers. She insists “So many things happened that I didn’t do. I had heavenly help!” (Waltman) He also protected her. When she fell off the water tank one season, she broke her finger instead of her neck. Floss is Brighton through and through. Instead of going by her given name of Sandra, she has gone by her camp name for years. And it is only fitting that her favorite accessory is a chainsaw. On Thanksgiving Day of 2021, Floss suffered a massive stroke that left her in a coma. As she lay in the hospital over the following few days, friends and family gathered to sing her camp songs, including “I Know A Place.” The Centennial Committee notified her prior to her stroke, that she was to be one of six women honored for extraordinary service to Brighton Camp during a Centennial Celebration meeting in the Assembly Hall on August 19, 2022. She died November 29, 2021.
Please feel free to click the link below and share your share your stories and experiences with Floss:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHeXb0S1MFRke018m0362iir7qfS56lfh2Br1Xv0-IErb3bg/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0
Fondly,
The Brighton Centennial Committee
Lisa Adams (Pippin), John Adams (Titan), Mimi Stewart (Apple), Reenie Fisher (Thumper), Kimball Fisher (Road Runner), Gwendolyn Adams (Sunny), Holly Young (Krispie)
As the Brighton Centennial Committee, we have the sad duty to share with you the news that Floss Waltman (President of the Brighton Committee from 1990-2011) passed away on Monday, November 29th, from complications of a massive stroke suffered on Thanksgiving.
Floss was deeply committed to the success of Brighton and contributed so much time, energy, effort and prayer to keep Brighton "Heavenly Father's Summer Home." We had planned to honor her at next summer's celebration. We know she will be with us in spirit and are thankful that we had shared with her our plans, prior to her death. Reenie and Kimball Fisher, who are writing a book on Brighton for the Centennial, also had the opportunity to interview her extensively, earlier this year. Below is an excerpt from that book:
In 1988, Floss Waltman (shown right of Mimi Stewart [Apple] during a 2021 interview with the authors) was in the middle of a difficult divorce that drove her to her knees. She prayed that the Lord would give her a substantive calling to help others and forget her worries. Two weeks later, when her Stake President called her to lead the Brighton Executive Committee, she exclaimed, “If I could, I’d jump over that desk and hug you!” (Waltman) “I am who I am today because of Brighton,” she explains. Reflecting on her years of service and inestimable contributions to the camp, she bears her testimony about how the Lord is in charge, and how He will help you do the things that need to be done. For example, when the Forest Service required that more than 300 trees be removed from the camp lease site, somehow Floss and her grandchildren managed to do the job themselves, build an amphitheater with the logs, and save the tight camp budget more than $20,000.00. She also saved nearly that much by painting the lodge only with the help of a few other volunteers. She insists “So many things happened that I didn’t do. I had heavenly help!” (Waltman) He also protected her. When she fell off the water tank one season, she broke her finger instead of her neck. Floss is Brighton through and through. Instead of going by her given name of Sandra, she has gone by her camp name for years. And it is only fitting that her favorite accessory is a chainsaw. On Thanksgiving Day of 2021, Floss suffered a massive stroke that left her in a coma. As she lay in the hospital over the following few days, friends and family gathered to sing her camp songs, including “I Know A Place.” The Centennial Committee notified her prior to her stroke, that she was to be one of six women honored for extraordinary service to Brighton Camp during a Centennial Celebration meeting in the Assembly Hall on August 19, 2022. She died November 29, 2021.
Please feel free to click the link below and share your share your stories and experiences with Floss:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdHeXb0S1MFRke018m0362iir7qfS56lfh2Br1Xv0-IErb3bg/viewform?vc=0&c=0&w=1&flr=0
Fondly,
The Brighton Centennial Committee
Lisa Adams (Pippin), John Adams (Titan), Mimi Stewart (Apple), Reenie Fisher (Thumper), Kimball Fisher (Road Runner), Gwendolyn Adams (Sunny), Holly Young (Krispie)
