Daniel Fort Flowers

Daniel Fort Flowers, age 93, was born on the 21st of January 1920 in New York City and died on the 29th of July 2013 in Houston. He lived a full life of devotion to the Church, his family, his country, and his profession.

Dan was raised in Findlay, Ohio, where his parents moved shortly after his birth. He graduated from Findlay High School at age 16 and entered Virginia Military Institute where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in 1940 and was awarded the Jackson Hope medal for the highest academic proficiency in this field, as well as sharing with Fred, his identical twin brother, the French medal for the highest proficiency in pure mathematics. Dan went on to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a bachelors, masters (both in 1942), and doctorate (in 1948) in Mechanical Engineering. He also attended graduate school at Vanderbilt where he was initiated into the Tennessee Delta chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He was a registered Professional Engineer in Ohio, Texas, and Virginia.

Like so many of the greatest generation, Dan’s life and education was disrupted by World War II. He served during the war as an Experimental Engineering Officer at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, working on the development and testing of aircraft. He was discharged in January 1946 as a Captain, at which point he returned to MIT.

Dan first went to work for his family’s business, Differential Steel Car Company, at the age of 15, and he continued working for family businesses as an employee, officer, director, and chairman until his death. Differential, founded by Dan’s father, was an engineering and manufacturing firm that developed equipment for the railroad and mining industries. When Dan’s father purchased an operating oil and gas company in 1957, Dan moved from Findlay to Houston in order to run that business, which he continued to do well into his 90s. He served as a director of Texas Commerce Bank, Tanglewood; The National Lime and Stone Company, Findlay; and Sentinel Trust Company, Houston.

Dan served two terms on the Board of Visitors of VMI as well as serving as a Trustee of the VMI Foundation. He was the recipient of the VMI Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award in 2002 in recognition of his lifetime of service to the Institute. He received the Vanderbilt School of Engineering Outstanding Service Award in 1993. After several terms of service on the MIT Corporation Development Committee he was named an Honorary Member. When the VMI chapter of Tau Beta Pi was formed in 1993, he was initiated as an alumnus. For many years he was active at the troop level in the Boy Scouts first in Findlay, then in Houston. Dan was a founding trustee of the H. Fort Flowers Foundation in 1950, and served in that role until his death.

Dan was a lifelong member of the Presbyterian Church and served as Deacon, Elder, and Trustee. He was raised in the First Presbyterian Church in Findlay, Ohio, and spent 56 years as a member of St. Philip Presbyterian Church in Houston. He sang in the choir, taught Sunday school, served as clerk of session and treasurer for St. Philip, and treasurer for the Presbytery of New Covenant. When it came to the Church, he essentially took on any task he was ever asked to do. His entire life was centered by the Church.

Dan was preceded in death by his parents: H. Fort Flowers and Sara Niles Flowers Georges; and his siblings: Fred Fort Flowers, Barbara Flowers Murray, Joan Flowers Foster, and Sara Flowers Paschall. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Jean Davis Flowers; his children: Lynne Flowers Carlton, and her husband, Jeff, D. Fort Flowers, Jr., and his wife, Beth, and Joseph K. Flowers, and his wife, Lori; and his 11 grandchildren: Elizabeth Carlton, Charlie Carlton, Betsy Flowers, Caroline Flowers, Elaine Flowers, Daniel Flowers III, Abigail Flowers, Noah Flowers, Davis Flowers, Ella Flowers, and James Flowers.

Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from five in the afternoon until seven in the evening on Friday, the 2nd of August, in the library and grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service is to be conducted at eleven o’clock in the morning on Saturday, the 3rd of August at St. Philip Presbyterian Church, 4807 San Felipe Street in Houston, where Rev. John Wurster, is to officiate.

Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the nearby Fellowship Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, for those desiring, contributions in Dan’s memory may be directed to St. Philip Presbyterian Church, 4807 San Felipe, Houston, TX, 77056; or to the VMI Foundation, P.O. Box 932, Lexington, VA, 24450.