In the coming hours and days you will read and hear about how Bernie Flowers was a one-of-a-kind person.

And, you know what? He really was.

When I learned this morning of Bernie's passing at the age of 81, I couldn't believe it was true. Guys like Bernie are ageless. They define life and seemed to be able to defy death.

His own children, and wonderful wife Adele, had the same feeling.

Daughter Dayna wrote in an e-mail in the wee hours of this morning announcing her dad's passing that "I always felt Bernie doesn't die." Sure that was a painful admission just a few short hours after her father had left this earth, but there is a lot of insight into Flowers' life in those words.

First, he was a living legend. He came to Purdue as Bernard Kwiatowski changing his name to Flowers (the Polish meaning of Kwiatowski no less) as many in those days did for ethnic and simplicity reasons.

And the word Flowers is the perfect way to describe Bernie. He bloomed wherever he was planted. He matriculated from Erie, Pa., to West Lafayette after growing up in humble beginnings.

He became an All-America end, the first Boilermaker to benefit from the new media of television. In his senior season of 1952 against Illinois, Flowers caught three touchdown passes from Dale Samuels in a 40-12 win over the defending Rose Bowl champions. It was Purdue's first appearance on national television in school history, and like just about everything else in Flowers' life, he made the most of the opportunity.

It was the game that defined Flowers in so many ways. First, as the story goes, Flowers almost missed the team bus, drawing the ire of Coach Stu Holcomb. Flowers had a bumbling way about him, but things always seemed to work out for him. He could talk his way into anything, and that skill served him as well in 1952 as it did in 2011.

Secondly, his heroics that day in Memorial Stadium linked him forever to Samuels and the two developed a life-long odd-couple relationship and friendship. Samuels was quiet and rarely spoke of his accomplishments, while Flowers � well if you knew Bernie, you knew he loved to talk about his exploits. Yet Flowers always credited Samuels � usually after he talked about those three touchdown catches. After all, Flowers made the All-America teams and had a sandwich named after him at Triple XXX; Samuels did not. Yet, the duo were fine with that reality over the years, especially since they were both later inducted into the Boilermaker Hall of Fame.

While Bernie might lead you to believe he had a longer NFL career than he did, Flowers' livelihood was made in the insurance industry. As good an end as he was at Purdue, he was a better salesman. His diction always had a tinge of his Polish roots embedded in it, yet it was music to the ears for the person hearing the message. Helping friends, and getting paid for it in the form of insurance sales turned out to be as good as playing football and getting paid for it.

And even at the end of his life, Flowers used his love for football and his gift of gab to help others. He was the person most responsible for recruiting members to the local Joe Tiller Chapter of the National Football Foundation. He helped it become one of the fastest growing chapters in the country, one handshake at a time.

I found myself admiring Flowers' ability to never take no for an answer, and smile all the while. He was the salesman I wish I could be.

Flowers left this earth a far better place. His legacy will serve as a reminder to all of us to be a good father, good husband and good friend. After all, he was all of those.

But most of all, the life of Bernie Flowers should serve as a reminder to all of us to not take ourselves too seriously and have fun in the daily machinations of life.

In that category, Flowers was definitely an All-American. Everybody's All-American.

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