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2012 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 247
Celebrating the life of Stafford Alvin Flowers.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, March 7, 2012
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 8, 2012
 

WHEREAS, Stafford Alvin Flowers, native son, athlete, builder, and civic and business leader, was born on September 9, 1924, in Richmond and entered into eternal rest on July 19, 2011; and

WHEREAS, Stafford Alvin Flowers, named by his father for the County of Stafford, was educated at Van de Vyver Catholic School and Armstrong High School; a gifted tennis player, he attended Xavier University on an athletic scholarship and later transferred to Virginia State University, where he became a football star and earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial arts and education in 1946 and later a master of arts degree in education; and

WHEREAS, after graduation, Stafford Alvin Flowers joined his father, an independent brick contractor, as a journeyman bricklayer and together he and his father completed many construction projects in Richmond, Newport News, Washington, D.C., and Newark, New Jersey; and

WHEREAS, Stafford Alvin Flowers taught masonry and served as a professional consultant to the director for curriculum development at Central Institute in Newark in 1949 and later taught industrial arts at Virginia Randolph High School in Glen Allen; and

WHEREAS, Stafford Alvin Flowers owned and operated a contracting business in Richmond from 1952 to 1964, and while a partner with J.J. Bernstein & Associates, he helped construct the Dickensdale community, Varina’s “Bungalow City,” and Battlefield Farms; he often refreshed his bricklaying skills on a job site; and

WHEREAS, his father was a masonry contractor who founded a trade council for African Americans; Stafford Alvin Flowers was also a brick mason and owner of a contracting business who continued the family legacy when he cofounded the Metropolitan Business League in 1968 to represent the interests of minority firms; he was employed by the Richmond Urban League and served as project director of the White House’s “Project Outreach” and later was named a regional director for the National Business League, which had evolved from the Negro Business League founded by Booker T. Washington in 1900; and

WHEREAS, Stafford Alvin Flowers relished a challenge and rose to the occasion with each challenge he faced; he taught his children that “trust and duty are the most important words in your life,” and his life was a great example of his beliefs and the importance of faith, civic duty, and political engagement; and

WHEREAS, Stafford Alvin Flowers “lived quite an extraordinary life with an egalitarian view of people,” according to family members who noted that “he didn’t differentiate by class or color; he looked at a person’s soul and character; with him, it was deed over dollars, character over class; he was as comfortable with poor people as with the wealthy”; and

WHEREAS, even as an older gentleman, Stafford Alvin Flowers remained a first-rate tennis player; he was also a graceful and talented ballroom dancer, taking pleasure in gliding across the dance floor with his wife at galas and other festive events; and

WHEREAS, Stafford Alvin Flowers was active in civic affairs and was a faithful member of Ebenezer Baptist Church; he practiced his faith by mentoring and guiding young men to help them make sound life choices; and

WHEREAS, the family and friends of Stafford Alvin Flowers grieve his loss and cherish his memory, and he will be greatly missed; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Stafford Alvin Flowers; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Stafford Alvin Flowers as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.