Dr. Flora Cass Gosch

Dr. Flora Cass Gosch (1930-2020) Dr. Flora Cass Gosch died December 30, 2020, at the home of her daughter in Chicago, Illinois. She was born on December 4, 1930, in New York City as the eldest daughter of Jewish Russian immigrants. Her family moved to Johnstown, Pennsylvania when she was six years old and she lived there until becoming the first member of her family to attend college. Flora graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1951, and spent her junior year in Paris, France, with lifelong friend and renowned children’s author Charlotte Pomerantz Marzani. After marrying and moving to Chicago, Flora attended medical school at the University of Illinois at Chicago and was one of only six women in the graduating class of 1965. She worked as the first female physician at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago and then worked on the faculty of the Northwestern University Medical School Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine until her retirement in 1997. In retirement Flora painted, practiced re-evaluation counseling and watched virtually every game of the Chicago Cubs, watching with the television on mute while listening to the games on radio and texting non-stop over every important detail with her children and granddaughter. Flora was a pioneer throughout, smashing glass ceilings everywhere she went. But her true passion was her children and grandchildren. Flora had the uncanny ability to make children the most important people in every room she ever entered. Flora is survived by her daughter, Dr. Carrie Gosch (Scott Dirks), her son, Stanley Miller Gosch (Christie Miller Gosch), four grandchildren, Maggie Grossman, Zoe Grossman, Macy Gosch and Noah Gosch, two sisters, Maxine Bellas and Elaine Grist, niece Lisa-Nicolle Grist, and her former son-in-law Lance Grossman. Donations in Flora's name can be made to the Arts for Illinois Relief Fund, which provides much needed COVID-19 relief to Illinois artists and arts organizations. https://artsforillinois.org/donate Arrangements entrusted to Chicagoland Cremation Options of Schiller Park, Illinois.