OBITUARY Edward Leonard Flom December 10, 1929 – November 9, 2018 Edward Leonard Flom (December 10, 1929 – November 9, 2018) was the second child and only son of Samuel Louis and Julia Flom, née Mittle. He was born in Tampa and attended local schools including Roosevelt, Wilson and Plant High School. As a youth he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout.
At Plant he excelled in academics, leadership, and athletics. He was inducted into the “I Dare You” society for straight A’s, National Honor Society, and served his senior class as President in 1947 while also being elected King of Pantherilla. He was a recipient of the Francis Kearney Award and the American Legion Award for best all-around student athlete.
He was named All State in basketball for two years in a row, lettered in baseball and track and excelled in many positions on the football field. He was inducted into the Plant High School Hall of Fame in 2008. Ed attended Cornell University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, followed by two years of service as a United States Army Corps of Engineers officer stationed in Austria.
Upon his return to Tampa he began his career with what was then Florida Steel Products later to become Florida Steel Corporation. He led the company as President, Chairman of the Board, and CEO for 29 years and retired in 1994 after 44 total years of service. Ed served on the board of directors for several organizations including TECO Energy, Outback Steakhouse, General Portland Cement, NationsBank of Florida, Florida Mining & Manufacturing, I. W. Phillips & Co., and Associated Industries of Florida.
He served on many professional, business, service, and charitable organizations including Tampa Sports Authority, Temple Schaarai Zedek, Jewish Welfare Federation, The United Way, Boy Scouts Board Of Review, Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation Advisory Committee, Rotary Club of Tampa, and the Young Presidents Organization, among others. In 1987 he was chosen Business Citizen of the Year by the Florida West Coast chapter of Harvard Business School Club. He was inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame in 1995 joining his late father.
Ed was a member of Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club, and a Fifty-Year member of both Tampa Yacht Club and Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla. He was an avid sportsman: a proficient fisherman, hunter, golfer, and tennis player. He was predeceased by his parents, his eldest son, Edward Louis Flom, and sister JoAnn Flom Greenberg.
He is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Beverly Boyett Flom, son Mark (Melissa), daughter Julie Pizzo (Tony) and grandchildren Taylor, Chandler, Connor and Coleman Flom; Presley, Colleen and Tony Pizzo; his sister Mary Sue Rothenberg (Fred); nephews and niece, and many whose friendship lasted a lifetime. Ed was devoted to his family, reserving a special love for his wife, Beverly. He was a kind and humble man who communicated with an economy of words but with a wealth of wisdom and wit.
In his high school yearbook under his name there is an apt description of him: “Brains, brawn and personality not always are combined, so all the more it pleases when all in one we find”. The family is planning a private service. www.
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