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Tom Flournoy, avid cyclist and engineer, dies at 69

Celebration of life planned for Nov. 23

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Tom Flournoy

Tom Flournoy died in his sleep the morning of Oct. 27, 2024. He was 69.

He was born in Washington, D.C. After graduating from Woodbridge Senior High School and Old Dominion University, he launched a successful career as a professional engineer, specializing in transportation projects from planning to final design, according to a statement from his partner. 

Projects he worked on included roadways, highways, bridges, transit facilities, commuter rail, and bike and pedestrian facilities. Many, if not most, were in the D.C. area, including Arlington County, which became Tomā€™s home in 1989. In his last position as VP at STV Inc., Tom was instrumental in starting and growing STVā€™s D.C. office, which is still thriving.

Tom was justifiably proud of his career as an engineer, during which he acted as a mentor to many younger engineers, launching them on successful careers of their own. He liked to tell stories of the time he went to Saudi Arabia to teach bridge engineering classes, and when traveling, he made sure to point out interesting bridges, some of which he had worked on. But proud as he was of it, Tomā€™s career was not the only focus of his life, according to friends.

Upon retirement in 2015, Tom reflected, ā€œI became rewired and self-contained, which is another great word. In bicycle touring it means you arenā€™t dependent. You are self-contained and not relying on SAG (support and gear). And that is how I will approach the coming years, rewired and self-contained! This is not meant to exclude my great friends, past, present and future, but more the independent spirit that I learned a long time ago when I rode solo across Italy in 1991!ā€

After retirement, Tomā€™s life focused on two passions: opera and cycling. Tomā€™s love of opera developed somewhat late in life, but it was intense. Among his favorites were La Boheme, Lakme, Billy Budd, and, last but not least, Wagnerā€™s Ring Cycle. He was a long-time subscriber to the Washington National Opera. Most often with his partner Laurent, he also attended performances at many of the great opera houses of the U.S. and Europe, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, London, Vienna, and Prague. His most recent opera trip was to Berlin, to see the Deutsche Operā€™s Ring Cycle. He was with Laurent at the Washington National Operaā€™s Wagner tribute on Oct. 26.

First and foremost, though, Tom was an avid cyclist, especially long-distance cycle touring. A few years ago, he said, ā€œI feel ageless, or used to. Age does creep up on us. Feeling ageless may sound like an old metaphor but I attribute that feeling to my love of cycling and, in particular, my love of long-distance cycle touring.ā€

Indeed, Tom loved going on long bike tours that often lasted weeks, either on his own or with friends, especially, in the last few years, with his close friend Mark. Tomā€™s first big bike tour was in 1988, when he first went to France with his then significant other, Doug Wolfer, and two friends. They biked from Paris to Chartres, to the Loire Valley, and onto Vichy, Lyon, Dijon, and back to Paris. As Tom put it, after that trip, he was hooked. Since then, he returned to France several times and also toured in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain, Portugal, and, most recently, the Balkans from Vienna to Bucharest via Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

In the U.S., Tom toured in Montana and Wyoming (an extension of Cycle Montana), Rhode Island, and Massachusetts (Providence to Provincetown), North Carolina and Virginia (Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway), Tennessee to Louisiana (Natchez Trace Parkway and the Mississippi River Trail to New Orleans), Vermont and New York (around Lake Champlain), the entire East Coast from Key West to Halifax (Canada), and a circular loop through Canada starting in Vermont that took him through MontrĆ©al, up the Pā€™tit Train du Nord Rail Trail, back down to Ottawa, and then around lake Ontario, across the Erie Canal, down the Hudson River to New York, and from there, through New Jersey and Delaware to home, in Arlington. Tom also did many local rides in the DMV area. Some of his favorites took him to Rock Creek Park, Hains Point, and the surrounding suburbs of Virginia and Maryland. For extended local rides, he loved to head out west to the Marshall area to enjoy the mountains. 

He was also a data geek. Since 2012, when he first started recording rides on Ride with GPS, he logged 1,533 rides with a distance of over 55,439 miles. He also climbed 2,597,322 feet, including conquering two of the famed Swiss passes, Simplonpass and Grimselpass, at the ripe age of 61 on a fully loaded touring bike.

Cycling was Tomā€™s passion; he also wanted it to be his legacy. So, in 2019, he set up the ā€œBonsource Cyclist Fundā€ through the Arlington Community Foundation. Bonsource was Tomā€™s cycling handle or nickname for many years. The goals and objectives of the Bonsource Cyclist Fund are to support and encourage access to bicycling for people of all ages through, primarily, infrastructure projects, but also through tangible and intangible programs. These could be infrastructure improvements that make a significant contribution to the bicycling network and are in need of funding in whole or in part; support for more routine but necessary infrastructure improvements; the renovation of maintenance or existing bicycle infrastructure; and programs that encourage people to enjoy bicycling or promote bicycling in general.

In the same spirit, over the last few years, Tom helped to instill a love of cycling in local youth. He volunteered as a mentor and ride leader for Phoenix Bikes, a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate youth, promote bicycling, and build community. He was also a frequent ā€œdriverā€ for Arlingtonā€™s Escuela Key BicibĆŗs (East), one of three routes that helps elementary age students get to their school by bicycle.

Tom was pre-deceased by his parents, John and Margaret Flournoy, his brother Kenneth, and his partner Doug Wolfer. He is survived by his partner, Laurent Cartayrade; close friend Mark Nguyen; and his immediate family, including his twin brother Doug, his brother John, and his sisters Mary Beth and Trudy, according to the statement from Cartayrade.

Friends and family will celebrate Tomā€™s life on Nov. 23, 2024, starting at 1 p.m., at the Lyon Park Community Center, 414 North Fillmore St., in Arlington, Va. If you have a bicycling jersey, no matter how loud, feel free to wear it in his honor. With those who want to join, some will ride the 1.2 miles from his residence at Hyde Park, 4141 North Henderson Road, to the celebration, departing at 12:45 p.m.

Contributions in his memory can be made to the Bonsource Cyclist Fund, bit.ly/bonsource.

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Obituary

Washington lawyer Carolee Byrley dies at age 60

An active member of the local Gay Recovery Community

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Carolee Byrley

Carolee Byrley passed away unexpectedly on Oct. 30, 2024, in her home in Washington, D.C.Ā She was 60.

She died from complications of Type One diabetes. 

She was born on Sept. 2, 1964, in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., to Paul L. Byrley and Judith I. Byrley.Ā 

She graduated in 1982 from Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Fla., and from college at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. She later earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C.

Byrley practiced law in Washington specializing in contracts and mergers.Ā 

Byrley was predeceased by her father as well as by Eileen Garner, her loving life partner of 38 years. She is survived by her mother, Judith Ireland, stepfather, Jerrold Nussbaum, brother, John Byrley, sister-in-law, Lena Byrley, brother, Jason Byrley, brother-in-law, Ben Byrley, and nephews, Jack and Alex Byrley.

Byrley was an active member of the Gay Recovery Community in Washington where she sponsored many people over the years. She recently received recognition for 40 years of sobriety and was living proof of the slogan, ā€œKeep what you have by giving it away.ā€ Her generosity and authenticity shown through in all she did. There was not a bone in her body that was fake. And, as one of her friends described her, she was ā€œthe kindest person I have ever met.ā€Ā 

Byrley was deeply committed to her dogs through the years and to the care and protection of rescue dogs everywhere.Ā 

A celebration of Byrley’s life will be held on Dec. 7 at 3 p.m. at Friends of Washington, 2111 Decatur Place, Washington, D.C., where friends encourage those who knew her to share memories of her life. There will be a reception at Friends following the memorial.Ā 

In lieu of flowers, please give a donation to your local dog rescue organization, in her name.Ā 

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Obituary

Longtime media professional Michael Flocker dies at 61

A “Celebration of Life” will be held in Washington, D.C. by his many friends on November 16th.

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Michael E. Flocker

Michael E. Flocker of Washington, D.C. passed away on Oct. 11, 2024, at the age of 61. He will be remembered with much love and missed by his mother, brother, niece and nephew and many of his U.K. relatives. He was predeceased by his father, Dale Price Flocker.

He was born in North Plainfield, N.J., and moved to Berlin, Germany, with his family for more than seven years, where his father was a pilot with Pan Am. On returning to the U.S. he lived in Wilton, Conn., for high school and New York City for college. He also lived in Los Angeles for many years where he pursued acting and singing. He later was hired by America Online and offered a higher position at AOL in New York City. From there he began writing books, with his first book, “The Metrosexual Guide to Style,” making the New York Times bestseller list. All of his books are available on Amazon.

Following his AOL career, Michael started working at NBCā€™s online division. This led to an on-camera role as an entertainment reporter in New York City on a local station. Eventually, Michael made his way to D.C. where he worked remotely for an online media company called Stacker.

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Obituary

Ted Olson, unlikely marriage equality champion, dies at 84

Conservative attorney led charge to overturn Prop 8 in Calif.

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Ted Olson (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Ted Olson, a Republican lawyer who championed gay rights by leading multiple marriage equality lawsuits, died on Wednesday in Fairfax, Va., after suffering a stroke. He was 84.

As a lifelong conservative, Olson served as assistant attorney general in the Justice Department under President Ronald Reagan and represented President George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election recount case that went before the U.S. Supreme Court. He later served as solicitor general in the Bush administration. 

Despite his conservative roots, Olson became a steadfast advocate of marriage equality, leading the legal fight to overturn Californiaā€™s ban on same-sex marriage, which voters had approved through Proposition 8 in 2008.

Together with Democratic lawyer David Boies, his former legal adversary in Bush v. Gore, Olson successfully argued before a California district court that Prop 8 was unconstitutional. After a series of legal challenges, the Supreme Court in 2013 upheld the district court ruling, allowing same-sex marriages to resume in California and invalidating part of a federal law that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

Olson and Boies in 2013 also challenged the constitutionality of Virginia’s ban on same-sex marriage. That same year, Olson broke with his party by publicly supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employers from discriminating against LGBTQ workers.

ā€œI feel very, very strongly that this country ought to stop discriminating against our citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation,ā€ he told the Washington Blade in 2013. ā€œIt is unfair, itā€™s unreasonable, itā€™s unacceptable. It serves no purpose and it does a great deal of harm.ā€

In a career that spans almost sixty years, Olson argued 65 cases in front of the SupremeĀ Court, according to his law firm, Gibson Dunn. He was often seen as a potential candidate for Supreme Court justice.

He represented Citizens United in a landmark 2010 Supreme Court case that removed limits on political contributions by corporations and labor unions. In 2020 he successfully argued against then-President Donald Trumpā€™s attempt to deport ā€œDreamersā€ ā€” undocumented minors whose parents brought them into the U.S.

Olson is survived by his wife, Lady Booth Olson, and two children. 

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