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Jim Nabors remembers Florence Henderson

Indy 500 icon Jim Nabors talks about his cohort Florence Henderson and what she meant to him.
Florence Henderson and Jim Nabors (Photo: IndyCar/Dave Edelstein)

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Sports Director Dave Calabro spoke with Indy 500 mainstay Jim Nabors about the loss of Florence Henderson.

"I'm very sad," said Nabors, speaking from Hawai'i.

He heard the news from a mutual friend.

"It was heartbreaking. It's been a bad week for me because I also lost my sister last week. She and I have been together all my life - 86 years. So it's been a sad week for me."

Florence was well known for bringing laughs and cheer to the Indy 500. In fact, Nabors was the one who brought her to Indianapolis.

"She and I were doing a show together up in Canada. She said, 'where you going?' I said, 'I'm going to the Indy 500.' She said, 'Oh, I've never been! You know, I'm from there.'

So Nabors invited her and a tradition was born.

"Florence was a life force. She couldn't stop. She's like...the Energizer Bunny! Two days before she died, she was at Dancing with the Stars! She knew she had heart problems - she'd had little touches of it before. Sad, sad, sad."

"She's like a sister. We were on the road together for several years. Just adored her."

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