David Allan Flory

David Allan Flory, age 80, from West Lafayette, Indiana, passed away on April 6, 2020, after a short stay in Franciscan Health Hospital of Lafayette.

David was born on May 4th, 1939, in Richmond, Indiana, to the late J. Arthur and C. Lucille Flory and grew up on a farm in West Florence, Ohio. He held a B.A. and M.A. from Miami University and a Ph.D. in Spanish from the University of Texas-Austin. A professor of Spanish at Rutgers and Professor Emeritus at Purdue Universities, he published two books on the literature of medieval Spain and France and was a much-loved teacher. A professional operatic tenor, he also studied voice at Julliard and the Manhattan School of Music and performed as lead tenor with the National Opera Company of Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Opera Theatre of New Jersey. One of his Madama Butterfly performances was filmed in New York in the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. He even sang an operetta in Hungarian, at short notice, in a 17,000-capacity amphitheater in Holmdel, NJ. He was first a ham radio enthusiast and then maintained a blog, “Great Opera Singers,” and, as Edmund St. Austell, a YouTube channel that posted music of all kinds and now has 41,000 subscribers. Many of these were in Europe and South America and, as he knew several languages and even basic Russian, he was able, before sustaining a stroke in 2015, to communicate with followers of his blog who wrote in from many countries. His channel, that is still active, now has over 34,000,000 views.

David is survived by his wife of 53 years, Wendy Stallard Flory; sons Quentin M. Flory (Cynthia Zheng) of Waikiki, Hawaii and Graham S. Flory of Billings, Montana. David and Wendy met in 1965 while attending a Stravinsky concert in Cincinnati where the composer himself was present to conduct. David is also survived by his brother Dan L. Flory (Barbara) of Middletown, Ohio and several nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

The family will receive friends on Friday, July 15th from 10:00 A.M. to 11:00 A.M. at Barnes Funeral Home, 220 E. Main St., Eaton. A graveside service will follow at 11:00 A.M. at Mound Hill Cemetery with Fr. David Doseck officiating.

David’s monument reads, “Beloved Husband and Father” and “He Filled Our Lives With Music.”

In lieu of flowers, a donation to Habitat for Humanity or a charity of your choice would be appreciated. Condolences may be sent to the family via the Web site at www.barnesfuneralhome.com