Floyd Shoemaker

F. Floyd Shoemaker 

A love of learning, a love of teaching, and a love of family were hallmarks in Floyd’s life.  He passed away November 19 at home in Littleton with his family at his bedside. 

Floyd was born January 15, 1933, in Greeley, Colorado, soon after his parents, Harriet and Walter Floyd, had completed degrees at Colorado State Teachers College.  Depression-era teaching jobs led his family to Denver, where Floyd graduated from South High School in 1952. If it hadn’t been for the 4-H club, a youth development organization, Floyd and his future wife, Connie, might never have met. Love blossomed for the two teenagers when they were delegates from Denver to the National 4-H Club Congress in Chicago. The couple went to Colorado A&M college on 1952, became honor scholars, and co-editors of the Rocky Mountain Collegian newspaper. Marriage in their senior year was followed by a move to the University of Missouri, where Connie taught high school English and Floyd completed an M.A. in Journalism.  Floyd returned to what now had become Colorado State University to chair a new major in Technical Journalism.  The birth of three children and further education were combined as he pursued and received a doctorate in Communication and Social Change at Michigan State University.

The most adventurous move for the family of five was to American University in Cairo, Egypt, where Dr. Floyd, as an Associate Professor, developed a new graduate program for Egyptian students employed in the mass media. After a life-changing four years in Cairo, a happy return to Colorado produced positions as a researcher at the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI),  Associate Professor at the University of Denver for 22 years, and  Regional Training Manager for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)  for 19 years. Floyd’s retirement was marked by two of his loves: learning and teaching. He facilitated 17 popular courses in philosophy and religion for Osher Life Long Learning Institute (OLLI).

Floyd is survived by his children, Troy Shoemaker and Melissa Hull;  his grandchildren Kayla and Jesslyn Shoemaker, Benjamin Hull, Socratis (Cody) Tilliros, Antony Tilliros, and Loucas Tilliros in Cyprus; and his youngest brother Forrest. He is preceded in death by his daughter Sonja Shoemaker Tilliros, his mother and father, Harriet and Walter Floyd, and brothers Rollin and Gene. 

A Celebration of Life will be held at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in mid-January.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Floyd Shoemaker, please visit our floral store.