Florence Tewksbury, 82, Harvey, ND formerly of Mercer went to be with her Lord and Savior on Sunday, March 3, 2013 at her home in Harvey.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 at 2 p.m. at Bethel Baptist Church, Harvey. Burial will be held in the spring at Oak Grove Cemetery, Fordville, ND.

Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. with a public prayer service at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Hertz Funeral Home, Harvey, ND.

Burial will be at the Oak Grove Cemetery in Fordville, ND.

Florence Isabelle Hughey was born on March 22, 1930 in East Waterboro, Maine, to Millard and Edith (Deering) Hughey. She grew up there and graduated from Waterboro High School. She took one year of additional training at Fryeburg Academy. She graduated from the University of Maine in 1953 with a B.S. degree in Elementary Education.
Florence was "born again" at age 16, after discovering the condemnation of her sin and the need of accepting Christ's blood sacrifice for her salvation; she was baptized soon after. Her father had a peach orchard and cultivated blueberries, so she was busy in the summer caring for the produce and selling it. She met Lt. Lewellyn Tewksbury at a Bible study on the University of Maine campus. They were married one year later, on August 30, 1953 at East Waterboro, Maine.
When Lewellyn had completed his Air Force duty, they moved back to his native state of ND and onto a 2000 acre ranch near Mercer. Florence had to learn what all the different breeds of cattle were and what the sheep business was all about. She had nine bottle lambs to care for the first summer.
Her teaching career began in a country school with eleven students and seven grades. She had many memories of bad roads, blizzards and staying at the school. She then began teaching at the Mercer School, and finished her career at twelve years when her daughter Loreve was born in 1965. She was also a 4H leader for a number of years.
She was a busy ranch wife, learning to ride a horse, working with the cattle, and hauling grain at harvest time, along with having meals hot and ready for the ranch crew. Her nature was uncomplaining, patient and sweet.
Lewellyn and Florence chose the Brethren Gospel Chapels as their place of worship and service. They attended at Hurdsfield, Washburn and Harvey.
In 1969 they began the Box T Ranch Bible and Saddle Camp. Teens could come and learn to ride a horse, work hard, and learn the truth of the Bible. It was a two week camp with all facilities in their home. They added on so they could accommodate 22 young people along with a staff of about 10. It meant having 30 people at their table for 2 ½ months each summer. Florence taught many girls to cook and they became head cooks at camp. She much enjoyed teaching the girls about women's roles in the home and at church during the Discipleship Camp. The camps were discontinued after the summer of 2008. They sold the ranch and moved to Harvey in the fall of 2009. Over 2000 young people came to the camps in the 40 yrs that it continued. The Lord Jesus Christ was precious to her as was the Word of God. Her desire was to glorify Him with her life.
Florence is survived by her husband of 59 years, Lewellyn; one daughter, Loreve Harris of Willowbrook, Illinois; two grandsons, Matthew and Caleb Harris, and two sisters, Evangeline Sawin of Topshan, Maine and Gwendolyn (Wesley) Kinney of Knox, Maine. She also had many nieces and nephews.
Florence was preceded in death by her parents and one sister Avis Hughey.
Monetary gifts received will be given to Operation Mobilization for David Byle, a nephew who is a missionary in Asia.