Florence A., 'Bitsie' Schrup, 83, of Moline, passed away on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at the Hope Creek Care Center, East Moline. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 am, Monday, November 24th at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Rock Island. A memorial mass held at a later date. Internment with James Schrup (deceased), will be in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Key West, Iowa. Memorials may be made to the Robert Young Center, Rock Island, IL. Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home, Rock Island is assisting the family.

Florence A. Hayes was born on July 26, 1931 in Dubuque, Iowa, youngest daughter of James N. Hayes and Florence M. Wickham Hayes. She married James M. Schrup on May 21, 1955 in Dubuque, Iowa. Florence had worked principally as a homemaker, and later as a Marine Operator for Answer Iowa, Davenport, at Black Hawk Travel, Moline, and Genesis Medical Center, Davenport. She was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church, Rock Island and the St. Patrick Society of the Quad Cities.

Florence will be remembered for her extraordinary life. A reading prodigy, she read fluently by age 4, had read the entire bible by age 12 and the entire works of Shakespeare by 15. She finished school at age 15 as President of her class. A voracious reader her entire life, she was gifted with a stellar conversational style, wit, charm and sense of humor. She very interested in the fine arts and was an accomplished painter, writer, decorator, traveller and entertainer. Befitting her Irish heritage, she also had a deep love of nature, interest in politics, protection of the environment and world affairs. In addition, she was an avid dancer, winning several jitterbug contests throughout her life and she will be most remembered for her ability to move forward through the most adverse of circumstances, and for her lightheartedness and love of laughter. She enjoyed many deep and happy friendships and was genuinely loved by all. Her greatest love was her children and grandchildren, and as a mother of 9, had a wonderful way of connecting with all children. She instilled in her own children a sense of their deep responsibility towards the less fortunate and a love of the arts and appreciation for music; especially rock and roll, jazz, blues, and classical music. We knew her also to be the bravest and most generous woman we had ever known. To quote from Charlotte Bronte, "…Her nature stood alone".

Survivors include her children, James N. Schrup, Moline, Margaret M. (Lawrence) Hansley, Elmsford, NY, Sara A. (John) Weinberger, Washington, DC, John P. (Janet) Schrup, Waconia, MN, Maria T. Schrup, Bettendorf and Laura R. Knerr, Bettendorf; grandchildren, Nicholas, Andrew, Noelle, Ian, Willem, Brendan, John, Jade and Lucas; a sister, Marian Kienitz, Madison, Wisconsin

She was in preceded in death by James M. Schrup; and her children, Anthony F. Schrup, Suzanne M. Schrup and Stephen B. Schrup.

Online condolences may be left for the family at wheelanpressly.com