Friends gather to remember the late Flo Anthony in Harlem ahead of funeral

A large assembly of friends and admirers gathered early on Tuesday night, Sept. 1, to bid adieu to our irrepressible super-soul sister, Florence “FLO” Anthony, aka Mrs. Michael Spinks. 

Flo left us last month, far too soon, at just 74. Our hosts were Angelo Ellerbee, Helen Shelton, and Roz Nixon. Their memorial tribute took the form of an old-fashioned roast chicken dinner at Slyvia’s Also. Wrapping up with peach cobbler, it concluded with few left untouched by so momentous a send-off.

NBA great Johnny Newman, sharp as a tack in a smart pinstriped suit Flo would have loved, was the able master of ceremonies. Right away, he called for a round of applause, not only for our hosts, but for Jamie Smith, Alvina Alston, Lisa Arcella, Shelley Ann Brooks, and Theresa Bowick, who assisted in producing this big event. 

After dinner, cooling drinks and lively conversation, we had a eulogy and prayer from Pastor John Dillard. Several of Flo’s Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters and Howard classmates spoke affectingly. One was retired Administrative Illinois Judge Sharon E. Strickland Williams. She related that because she came from Chicago, Flo first used her hometown as a nickname to address her. “Later she shortened it to just Go. From then on, it was Flo and Go whenever it came to organizing boat rides and parties for the weekend, anything to raise money,” she said. 

In homage to Flo, her sorority members wore red, the sisterhood’s color. Resplendent in a scarlet jacket embellished with rhinestones, sporting gold chains with diamond pendants and a dramatic mane of golden tresses, Flo’s goddaughter, publicist Alvania Alston, told us, “Ordinarily I have black hair. But tonight, in honor of Flo, I’m blond!” 

Speaking poignantly of personal trials, she concluded philosophically concerning Flo’s ordeal with cancer this past year. 

This theme was most memorably taken up when Angelica Billalobos, one of Flo’s round-the-clock caregivers, addressed us. “We started out as strangers, but I came to love Ms. Flo. Love is not always sunshine and flowers. Many of us know what it’s like to have an intimate relationship with someone who’s suffering. One moment they will tell you, ‘I love you,’ and then, the next moment, due to hurting, they might just as easily say, ‘I hate you.’ But once you come to know someone, you know the truth. 

“One day, Ms. Flo said, ‘I know I am dying, but I want my old life back, the way it used to be!’ I told her, ‘No, Ms. Flo, you’ve had a great life! You are a fighter! You are going to beat this!’” 

Born Florence Anthony on March 4, 1952, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Flo was the first African American to become a cheerleader at her high school. Lauded as an iconic journalist, media personality, and author, Flo was also praised for her love of Howard University, her alma mater. She was a proud Alpha chapter member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; from centerpieces to a closing photo shoot, the organization’s ceremonial was a recurrent theme.

We learned that Flo was the first African American woman to work in the sports department of the NewYork Post. She went on to become the first African American in the Post’s Entertainment section, contributing to the renowned Page Six. Flo further pioneered as the first African American woman to write a column in a supermarket tabloid with her Eye on the Stars column in the National Examiner. 

Long before we met several years ago, I was aware of her “Go with the Flow” column for the Amsterdam News. Although I did not write for the paper then, she already knew of my book Harlem Lost and Found and offered encouraging words of praise. Whether because of it or for some other reason, Flo welcomed me as a friend immediately. 

I was hardly unique. If she liked you, Flo had a knack for instant affection and interest. A humanitarian, she liked most people. Certainly, she had a genius for being able to engage with anyone. 

Flo spoke of Jean Shafiroff, the philanthropic Park Avenue-South Hampton socialite, as “my sister from another mother!” At the memorial, Jean remarked about their close friendship and the many times she and her husband Martin dined with Flo and Michael Spinks at her friend’s favorite Asian restaurant. 

Thanks to Flo specializing in boxing journalism and PR, she and Spinks had known each other for more than 40 years. In recent years, when they were together at Jean’s cocktail parties, it was a delight watching their once-intermittent romance rekindled. It evolved rapidly from something lighthearted into something that seemed destined and profound. Finally, last January, they married.

“Flo loved being in love!” said Williams. 

Ultimately, what best sums up a well-lived life, with plenty of firsts and, Flo told me last summer, “too few regrets to be worth complaining about”?

“They say,” she continued, “you mostly regret what you don’t do. That’s why I’ve tried just about everything I wanted to!”

On Tuesday, our answer at Sylvia’s Also was a song, a resounding rendition of “My Girl.” Everyone joined in. Our clapping and laughter competed loud and heartily to give the piano a run for its money. And then, again and again, we toasted, “Here’s to you, Flo! Way to go!”