‘Wild stories, red lipstick and high heels’: Remembering Florence “Flossie” Segal
Florence Z. “Flossie” Segal was a fixture at the VCU School of Social Work from 1968 to 1990, bringing color and light everywhere she went – often in her bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle convertible. She loved jazz and fresh flowers from her garden. She and her husband, Jake, hosted pool parties, holiday celebrations and even wedding receptions at their Near West End home in Richmond. She had a sharp sense of humor.
Those are some of the memories colleagues and friends shared after Segal’s passing at age 99 in April 2024.
“I love Flossie so much, and I say it in the present tense,” says Gayle Harris, daughter of former School of Social Work Dean Grace E. Harris and a close friend of Segal. “For me she’s still here. She’s a light that continues to shine.”
Segal was a former associate professor of social work and director of continuing education at the school, and she was the sister of former Dean Elaine Z. Rothenberg. Segal helped establish VCU’s Faculty Senate in 1970 and served as its second president, and her impact spread into the larger community as well.
Segal co-founded Gateway Homes in Richmond in 1983 to provide residential mental health treatment for adults, and she remained on the board the rest of her life – even attending a clinical meeting about a month before her passing. She was known as the “Mother of Gateway.”
“I am grateful for having known Flossie, with her wild stories, red lipstick and high heels – as well as her commitment to our profession,” says Marcia Harrigan, who earned her master’s in social work at VCU and served on the school faculty and administration for 31 years.
» See the full story at VCU News.
