Sister ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Florence Leone Poch, OSF, 94, died in St. Jospeh Care Center in Spokane Washington, on January 7, 2024. She had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 74 years. Sister Florence was born, Donna Lee Poch in Fairfax, Washington. She was a member of Visitation Parish in Tacoma and a graduate of St. Leo High School, Tacoma, when she entered the congregation in 1948. She professed her first vows in 1950. She earned a BS in Elementary Education and Social Science from Marylhurst College. She ministered primarily in education and spiritual ministry.

Sister Florence spent most of her religious life in the Diocese of Spokane.  She began in elementary education at St. Charles School, where she taught for nine years.  In the early 1970s, she shifted focus to spiritual retreat work and served in administration at Immaculate Heart Retreat House and at St. Joseph Home.  In 1975 she established Kairos House of Prayer, an ecumenical house or prayer on a hilltop about 12 miles north of Spokane and continued to serve as director of the center and spiritual guide for 42 years. In 2020 Sister Florence retired to Emilie Court Assisted Living Center and then to St Joseph Care Center in Spokane where she served in prayer ministry until her death.

Additional ministry includes five years in the San Diego Diocese teaching at Our Lady of Guadalupe School in San Diego.  She spent three years in the Baker Diocese teaching at Sacred Heart Academy in Klamath Falls and St. Joseph Academy in Pendleton.  She also served for one year at St. Joseph Hospital in LaGrande.  In the Portland Diocese, she taught for one year at St. James School in McMinnville.