Mónica Flori

Mónica Flori, professor emerita of Hispanic studies, died September 20, 2022, at age 77.

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Flori grew up in a multilingual environment; in addition to Spanish, she learned English, French, and Italian, as well as the German she spoke with her grandfather. As an undergraduate, she studied philosophy and traveled in the United States and Europe. Flori met her husband, Frank, and settled in Honolulu, where she began her study of Hispanic literature at the University of Hawai‘i. They moved back to Frank’s hometown of Portland, and Mónica began doctoral work at the University of Oregon. After earning her PhD in Romance languages and literatures, she started teaching at Lewis &Clark in 1977.

For the next 29 years, Flori was a beloved teacher and colleague, leading two overseas study programs, to Costa Rica and to Argentina, and strengthening programs covering the entire Spanish-speaking world. Her 1995 book, Streams of Silver: Six Contemporary Women Writers From Argentina, emerged from her research sabbaticals in Buenos Aires. It explored the lives and works of several contemporary women writers in the second half of the 20th century.

Lewis &Clark has established the Mónica R. and Frank C. Flori Scholarship Fund in honor of Mónica and Frank.