The November and December holiday span of 2016 saw a number of legendary and luminary names pass away between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Actor and writer Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds, singer George Michael, actor Zsa Zsa Gabor and actor Alan Thicke were among the notables who passed.
The first of the parade of goodbyes began nine years ago on Thanksgiving morning with the passing of Florence Henderson, forever embraced as a pop culture favorite TV mom. She was also a woman of versatile talent that afforded a long career also spanning Broadway, film and countless live performances.
But most of all in my mind, Henderson, who died at age 82, was one of our beloved Hoosier claim-to-fames, born and raised near Dale, Indiana.
I’ve thought about Florence, who I considered a friend, quite often in recent weeks, leading up to the Thanksgiving anniversary of her leaving us.
While watching last Tuesday’s Nov. 25 season finale of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” with my parents, I recalled that it is the series Florence was once a cast member of and how much she loved the show. Her final TV appearance was a flash of the camera and her bright smile in the VIP section of the audience for the 2016 “Dancing with the Stars” season finale on Nov. 21, 2016.
A line of Halloween costume wigs manufactured by Imposta Costumes of Runnemede, New Jersey, in homage to the TV characters from ABC’s family series “The Brady Bunch” included a wig styled as Mrs. Carol Brady, portrayed by the late Florence Henderson. (Philip Potempa/for Post-Tribune)
Our shared circle of famed friends included actor Jim Nabors and Phyllis Diller, both also gone now and a favorite pair of contributors to all four of my published “From the Farm” series of cookbooks.
Phyllis helped me write my original 2004 cookbook, and Nabors helped me write my second “From the Farm” cookbook in 2007, contributing the celebrity foreword and also a special chapter with his own favorite recipes. As I’ve relayed in a previous column, Florence had agreed to do the same honors for my third cookbook installment in 2010 and graciously submitted all of the needed copy and recipes.
However, after a discussion with my publisher, I decided to have fellow Hoosier actress Betsy Palmer, who hailed from our own East Chicago, Indiana, partner with me for my third book, with the promise that Florence (whose delicious recipe for her chocolate brownies is included in the 2007 cookbook) would be included in the next edition, released in 2019. We lost Betsy in May of 2015 at age 88. Both Betsy and Florence shared the distinction of being cast in the early days of NBC’s “Today” show, dubbed “a ‘Today’ Show Girl,” an on-air assistant of sorts appearing in cooking, fashion and homemaking broadcast segments.
During my “Thanksgiving From the Farm” live stage cooking show on Sunday, Nov. 16, I included a recipe segment paying tribute to the memory of Florence. My frequent stage co-star and collaborator, Cara Schmitt of Munster, graciously agreed (much to her surprise) to join me from her audience seat to appear on stage in an “official” “Mrs. Brady” wig (a line now discontinued and a reason why the wig was slightly disheveled) and don an apron for a fun recipe segment.
Columnist Philip Potempa holds back laughter after being joined on stage by personality Cara Schmitt, sporting an apron and “Mrs. Brady Wig,” for a recipe segment saluting the late Florence Henderson during his Nov. 16, 2025, “Thanksgiving From the Farm Cooking Show” at Theatre at the Center in Munster. (Photo courtesy of Eloise Marie Valadez)
Throughout most of her latter career, Florence would return every year to Indianapolis in May to participate in the opening ceremonies of the Indy 500 Race to sing “God Bless America” as a tradition, just as her pal Jim Nabors traditionally crooned “Back Home Again in Indiana.”
Over the years, she did this duty 23 times. Throughout the years I interviewed Henderson and later, I was able to count her as a friend with one of our common bonds being our shared Catholic faith.
Because of her status ranked as one of TV’s “favorite onscreen moms,” a common question posed to Florence in interviews was: “So who do you go to for motherly advice?”
Her answer was the Mother Superior for the Sisters of St. Benedict of the Monastery of Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, Indiana. (Rather than being referred to as “Mother Superior,” Sister Barbara Lynn Schmitz’s title is “Prioress” for her convent’s order.)
During the decades, Florence helped this shrinking order of nuns, the same sisters who taught her all throughout her days at St. Bernard’s Elementary School, by assisting with raising funds for the care of the aging nuns in the order.
I spent time with Florence during the Thanksgiving week of 2006 when she headlined a series of three days of concerts with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Nov. 20-22, in downtown Indianapolis at the Hilbert Circle Theatre. Florence performed her favorite songs from “South Pacific,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “Chicago” and a selection of standards from Rodgers and Hammerstein. At the time, I’d urged our own Northwest Indiana Symphony Maestro Kirk Muspratt and the orchestra board of directors to book Florence to do the same with a Mother’s Day concert at our now erased entertainment oasis, the Star Plaza Theatre.
Alas, the sands in the hourglass slipped through too soon. (During the decades, we did both Shirley Jones and Carol Lawrence as headliners for their own Mother’s Day Weekend concerts with our Northwest Symphony Orchestra.)
Florence loved to cook and published her own cookbooks throughout the years, as well as hosting her own cable television cooking shows. For after Thanksgiving, a departure from leftovers is always a welcome change for appetites, especially serving a dish with just a touch of spicy zip.
Florence created a pasta casserole recipe in 1998 for a promotion she did with celebrity Chef Jacque Pepin, who will celebrate his 90th birthday in a few weeks on Dec. 18. Florence was joined by other noted “TV” moms, like Marion Ross, who is now age 97, of “Happy Days” fame, and “Good Morning America” host and mom of twins Joan Lunden, who is now 75. Under the watchful eye of Chef Pepin, Florence and the gals were tasked to whip up recipes using readily available “cupboard shelf staples” during this March 1998 promotion in downtown New York sponsored by the Canned Food Alliance.
The zest and flavor of Florence’s quick recipe for her meatless Southwest Baked Pasta and Cheese Casserole, hailed as one of her “Lenten menu go-tos,” received the most attention and applause, and Florence beamed from ear to ear.
Columnist Philip Potempa has published four cookbooks and is the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center. He can be reached at philip.m.potempa@powershealth.org or mail your questions: From the Farm, PO Box 68, San Pierre, Ind. 46374.
Florence Henderson’s Southwest Pasta and Cheese Casserole
Makes 4 to 6 servings
4 cups bow-tie pasta
1 can (14.5 ounces) cut, peeled tomatoes
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) cheddar cheese soup, divided use
7 ounces can diced green chilies
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided use
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 cup mashed tortilla chips, divided use
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees, cook pasta as package directs and drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients except 1/4 cup of the cheese and the 1 cup crushed tortilla chips.
Add pasta to bowl and mix to blend thoroughly.
Transfer mixture to a 2-quart shallow baking dish and level the top.
Sprinkle the remaining cheese and bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes or until bubbly.
Sprinkle top with tortilla chips and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer until lightly browned.
