Longtime flower shop owner and softball-playing Tri-Cities grandma of 12 dies

Connie Wormington, the energetic florist, entrepreneur and softball champion who competed nationwide in her late 60s, died Sept. 26 in Kennewick.

She was 76.

Wormington was known as much for her business acumen — owning Just Roses for over 30 years — as for the enthusiasm she brought to her favorite pastime.

She was born and raised in Nebraska and played ball through college, attending Wayne State University in Detroit.

Following college, she worked for a telephone company and eventually resettled in Eastern Washington with husband Sandy Wormington Jr. to raise a family.

They started in the floral business in 1988 and steadily expanded over the years, even offering franchises in the Northwest. They also owned a self storage business, Just Storage.

But two years ago, Connie was faced with a fast-spreading cancer, so she and her husband sold their Just Roses Flowers & More business in 2022.

But she still wasn’t ready to give up on another love of her life — softball.

Wormington cited her mother, Arlene Werner, as her inspiration, she told the Tri-City Herald in an 2018 interview after she played for the championship Chalk Line team at the 17th annual WBSC Senior World Cup, in Roanoke, Va.

She played softball for more than 55 years. She competed with the Seattle-area Wet Socks at the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah, the Las Vegas Neons at a tournament in Palm Springs, where they finished third, and the Fun Bunch, which won the Softball Smash in Prescott, Ariz. and picked up a gold medal at a tournament in St. Louis.

She also was dedicated to a support group for relatives raising children, Relatives As Parents Program. She spoke openly to the Herald over the years about raising her grandchildren and the need to help other grandparents with services.

She boasted of being grandma to a dozen grandchildren on the eve of her 70th birthday.

Mueller’s Tri-Cities Funeral Home is handling her arrangements.

This story was originally published October 3, 2024 at 5:00 AM.