Jean Gilmore
Jean Gilmore, 63, died March 18 of a brain tumor.
She and her husband ran Bob Gilmore's Flowers 'n Things, a Saratoga retail shop, from 1973 until his death in 1994, when she continued the business alone.
Gilmore was born in St. Louis in 1932. Her family was in the floral business in that city. She met her husband, who at the time had a wholesale flower business in Redwood City, in the Bahamas at a floral convention. After founding their Saratoga business, she worked 60 to 70 hours a week to make it a success.
Her co-workers remember her fondly. "She was a very special friend. In a way, we weren't family, but we were," explained Flora Sennewald, who worked with Jean Gilmore since 1979. "She wanted the business to go on, so she gave it to us."
Gilmore left the landmark business to Sennewald, Mariette Williams and George Pappas. "That she gave the business to us shows her generosity. We're going to make her proud,"
Sennewald said.
Contributions can be made to the Mid-Peninsula Hospice of Mountain View or the American Cancer Society.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 3, 1996.
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