According to local legend, if you flash the lights of your car onto Flo’s grave three times, her ghost will appear and approach you. Stories about how she died have circulated for years, with some saying she was waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up for a school dance at Ogden High when she was struck and killed by a car. Another version claims she choked on a piece of candy. But how close are these stories to the real events that caused her untimely death?
Florence Louise Grange, often called Louise rather than Florence or Flo, was born on November 24, 1903, in Ogden. She was the second child of Dottie Susan Mumford and Ralph Manton Grange. From the limited information available, she appeared to be a well-liked girl, mentioned as a guest at various social gatherings and even playing on a school volleyball team in 1916.
In 1918, the world was hit by the devastating Spanish Flu pandemic, which claimed between 20 and 50 million lives worldwide, including nearly 700,000 in the United States. Utah was particularly hard-hit, ranking as the third most affected state. By late November of that year, the outbreak overwhelmed Ogden’s hospitals, prompting officials to convert an LDS amusement hall into an emergency care center. Residents needed a clean bill of health just to enter the city. From September 1918 until June 1919, over 2,343 deaths in Utah were attributed to the Spanish Flu, which was especially severe for young, otherwise healthy individuals.
The Grange family, like many others, was not spared from the flu. According to their family history, they contracted the illness after one of their tenants became sick. Most of the family experienced mild cases, but Louise was not as fortunate. She fell seriously ill and, after being sick for ten days, died at home on December 29, 1918, at 5 a.m. She was just 15 years old. Her official cause of death was recorded as “died suddenly, probably of endocarditis,” with influenza as a contributing factor.
It’s possible that the connection between Flo’s ghost and cars stems from her family’s background. Louise’s father, Ralph Grange, was one of Utah’s first auto mechanics, renowned for his expertise in building, fixing, and racing cars.
You can find “Flo’s Grave” at the Ogden City Cemetery, near 20th & Washington. Her resting place is on 7th, just north of Martin, in plot number 2A-13-32-5W. Nearby are the graves of her parents, grandparents, and at least one sibling. Despite the myths surrounding her death, the real story of Florence Louise Grange is a reminder of the tragic toll the Spanish Flu took on young lives like hers.
