Floyd Klossing

Weslaco- Floyd “Ed” Klossing was born in Burlington, Iowa, in 1931, during the first wave of the Great Depression. At 18, he enlisted as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, serving as a medic for three years. Upon his return, Ed attended the University of Arizona, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Geology and pursuing work as a prospector for the US Federal Government. A few years later, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and it was there that Ed went on a blind date with Rita Mulkey, who was to be the great love of his life. The family moved from Atlanta to Bettendorf, Iowa in 1975, where Ed took up work at the Rock Island Arsenal. 

At 50 years old, Ed and Rita moved to Germany for three years through his employment with the government. Although they enjoyed the lifestyle in Germany and would both later recall living there as the best period of their lives, home was calling them back. They returned to Iowa and after retiring several years later, moved to Dallas City, Illinois, where they remained for most of Ed’s remaining years, tending to their bountiful outdoor garden, feeding stray cats, and identifying birds from the front porch. In later life, the couple spent their winters in southern Texas, where Ed died peacefully, at 93 years old, on Friday, September 6, 2024. 

Ed is survived by his wife of 62 years, Rita Klossing, and his three children (Steven Klossing, Jennifer Gundelfinger, and Nancy Jipp), as well as nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered for his steel-trap memory, his scratchy beard, his orneriness in debate, his unbounded devotion to his family, and his obsession with all things green. Although he was an endlessly curious man with many enduring interests, Ed’s primary lifelong passion was for plants. An accomplished and enthusiastic horticulturist, he was a master gardener with a razor-sharp memory for Latin binomials and the particular characteristics of hundreds, if not thousands, of plants from around the world. If you have known Ed, please join us in celebrating his life and honoring his memory by thinking of him the next time you admire a flower, pick a ripe tomato, or tend to a beloved houseplant.