Florence Ashby

Archives Committee Chair

FSU Class of 1957

Florence Ashby played clarinet in the Marching Chiefs, as well as Concert, Symphonic, Circus, and the Pep Bands from 1953 until 1957. She later earned a graduate degree from Purdue University. Florence lives in Rockville, Maryland, and although retired after forty years as a mathematics professor at Montgomery College, Florence plans to teach as an adjunct faculty member. 1953-1957: She was a freshman when Manley Whitcomb came to FSU from Ohio State, and she participated in several innovations, including the "8 to 5" marching style and the installation of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, where she was the founding President. She marched in the first Alumni Band and has marched in several more. On graduation, she entered graduate school at Purdue University, where she played clarinet in the Symphonic Band.  IBM hired Florence and moved her to the Washington area to work with the IBM group on the Tiros Weather Satellite Project at Goddard Space Flight Center. Later she taught mathematics at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland for forty-four years. In retirement, she and her FSU Alum husband, Laird Anderson, moved to Tallahassee to enjoy the many activities at the University. She serves on the Foundation Board of Trustees, is a founding member of Women for FSU, and is an advisor for her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. Florence is proud to be a life-long member of the Marching Chiefs Alumni Board of Directors.

Residence: Tallahassee, FL

Board Term: Fall 2021 - Fall 2025

You can email Florence Ashby at [email protected].