Death Of Houston’s Beloved Events Maestro Richard Flowers Shakes the City’s Elite — Lynn Wyatt, Tilman Fertitta and More Remember an Irreplaceable Party Legend

Little did Alley Ball chairs Mignon and Steve Gill anticipate that on the night of their gala at the Post Oak Hotel, they would bid a final adieu to events maestro Richard Flowers, who had died only the day before at age 75. Flowers and his team at The Events Company had created the dazzling decor for that ball as Flowers has done across the Houston party landscape for decades insuring that fundraisers and posh gatherings were nothing less than spectacular.

A heart attack ended Flowers’ reign as the city’s premiere event planner and the loss — personal as well as professional — is one that has seared through the hearts of a broad swath of gentry across Houston and beyond. Flowers passed at home on April 17 in the arms of his beloved husband Angel Rios.

Flowers was not only the talented maestro of special events, he also became a friend to all with whom he worked. He was a personal friend of mine and my husband’s. We spent more than few Sunday suppers together, visiting over a bowl of my seafood gumbo.

Richard Flowers was a gentleman to the core whose boundless creativity combined with his generosity of spirit placed him firmly in the hearts of gala chairs, brides, business powerhouses and a coterie of close friends.

Born and raised in San Antonio, Flowers earned a business degree from the University of Texas where he was a member of the prestigious Silver Spurs. His early career in the oil industry in Houston gave way to a floral business which in 1990 morphed into a full-fledged events planning company when Lynn Wyatt asked him to create a decorative motif for the Houston Ballet Ball.

Only the week before his passing, Flowers and The Events Company had orchestrated Steve Wyatt’s wedding at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. That same night, he had created an elegant decor for the Houston Grand Opera Ball and decor for another nonprofit.

“Richard had one of the most creative minds that I’ve ever known. He also became one of the dearest friends in my life,” Lynn Wyatt tells PaperCity. “I could walk into a ballroom or any event and immediately tell that the room was created by none other than Richard Flowers.

“From the lighting to the flowers and the table settings, you knew right away it had to be Richard Flowers.”

Richard Flowers’ Presidential Touch

Through the decades. Richard Flowers’ talents extended beyond charity galas to Presidential inauguration parties in Washington D.C., special events in Europe, six-figure weddings, lavish birthday parties, deb soirées, and a host of happenings for personal friends Barbara and President George H.W. Bush. He regularly vacationed with the Bushes in their summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

In late 2003, United States Ambassador Tilman Fertitta brought Flowers into the Landry’s Inc. family of companies forming The Events Company, which has been responsible for creating magical themes for every major performing and cultural arts gala in Houston.

“Richard had a vision like no one else. We saw it from the first Presidential gala I hosted in my house in the early ’90s and, of course,  the 25 years of making the San Luis Salute the most special gala in this area,” Fertitta texted PaperCity from his post in Rome.

“Not only is our family heartbroken, Richard did so much for so many families in this city from weddings to galas to birthdays. He will be missed by so many because he became a part of so many people’s families.”

In addition to creating spectacular fundraisers in the Fertitta family home for the Houston Police Foundation, M.D. Anderson Children’s Cancer Center and  the Clutch City Foundation, Flowers was key in planning Blayne Fertitta’s wedding last June. The festivities included a killer welcome party held on the floor of Toyota Center and a flower bedecked reception in the Post Oak Hotel ballroom.

In tribute to his many years of support for Houston Ballet and its fundraising efforts, Flowers was honored at the Ballet Ball in February. His gift of creativity was shared with the company for decades including the ball chaired by Greggory Burk and Becca Cason Thrash in 2012.

“We spent 30 years making magic together in Houston, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Venice and Paris. A more creative and patient man never existed,” Cason Thrash texted from her roost in Paris.

“I could fill volumes with stories — so many, too many to recount. We faced harrowing obstacles, experienced some hilarious moments, but always with triumphant outcomes, usually achieved against all odds. No words can express the respect and admiration I had for him — the unique and irreplaceable Richard Flowers.”

The Becca Cason Thrash Partnerships

Flowers produced Cason Thrash’s multi-million dollar fundraisers with Liaisons au Louvre held in Paris’ famed museum, the Venetian Heritage Gala in Venice in the historic Scuola de Misericordia, and her 50th birthday soirée in France’s iconic Chateau de Chantilly, among scores of fundraisers held in her Memorial area home.

In 2011 Town & Country magazine appointed Ricahrd Flowers to its prestigious Wedding Advisory Board. Three years earlier, he was key in planning the wedding of Jenna Bush and Henry Hager. The bride arrived at the outdoor setting at the family’s ranch in a pickup truck driven by her father, President George W. Bush.

“He was a gentleman and there is no one like him,” United States Ambassador Mindy Hildebrand texted from her post in Costa Rica, “My family was blessed to experience his vision and magic for so many special events in our lives.”

A truer friend was never had and we will not sit down again for a Sunday night bowl of seafood gumbo without remembering the fantastic Richard Flowers.

Houston has lost one of its treasured icons and so many of us have lost a dear, dear friend.

Following a family funeral service, a celebration of Richard Flowers’ life will be held at the Post Oak Hotel this Saturday, April 25 from 2 pm to 4 pm.