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Florence Coardy was born March 8, 1906 in Ingram, Wisconsin, but grew up in Portland OR and then Spokane, WA. She begin solo contralto performances at the age of 16, and within a few years had success touring and performing in the northwest. She married Willis B. Merriam on August 11, 1928 and they had two sons, Don and Robert. She earned a Bachelor of Education from the Cheney Normal School (later Eastern Washington University), and a Bachelor of Music in 1932 from the University of Washington. She participated in transcontinental tours in 1937 and 1939, and in 1940 she became locally known as the “Lullaby Lady” from her performances on Spokane’s KHQ radio programs. When her husband became Geography chair at the Oregon College of Education (later Western Oregon University) from 1940-1945, she became chair of Applied Music there. During World War II Florence served as Assistant Director at the Army Service Club at Camp Adair, OR, and at Muroc Army Air Base in California. During this time she wrote the music for an original camp musical, As You Were.

In 1945 Florence’s husband accepted a position at Washington State College (later Washington State University) in Pullman, WA. Shortly thereafter, Florence founded and directed The Music Makers, a semi-professional northwest touring choir, which also included a men’s choir, The Squires, and a women’s choir, The Merry Wives. She also gave concerts, and taught voice, piano, and organ, and wrote newspaper articles and a book based on her Camp Adair experiences, Dust and Leaves. She passed away on January 26th, 2005, in Pullman.