William Flanagan Obituary

My sincerest condolences to the family of this most wonderful man.
I was a student at SFDS in '75 and Bill Flanagan was truly a great mind, impressive to all his students. He taught not only with dedication but with great humor, using adages such as "Do you walk to school, or do you carry your lunch?!" He made his students think and that's the greatest gift any teacher could ever give. In his humility we glimpsed the great humanitarian he was and we all admired him. He will forever be remembered in my mind and in the minds of all who were privileged to be in his classroom.

I too had Mr. Flanagan for Chemistry at SFDS (1973) and he to this day is by far the best and most dedicated teacher that I have ever had! He was often at school with us until 6 or 7PM making sure that those of us who needed additional assistance mastered the concepts of the day.
What a brilliant, sweet man and what a lousy hand that he was
dealt!
I pray for his soul and my condolences to you and your family.

Mary,
I still remember tying all the yellow ribbons at your house in Dolton so many years ago to welcome Bill home from the hospital. I am sure that your Mom and Dad have tied ribbons in heaven welcoming him to his final home.
Bill was so strong as were you these past 26 years, now we know he is a peace and if there are antique cars in heaven we all know that he has his eye on restoring one!
Remember we are all here for you if you need anything, just a phone call away.

God Bless,
Patty

Dear family of Mr. Flanagan,
I was a student in Mr. Flanagan's Biology and Chemistry classes (1974 & 1975)at St. Francis de Sales High School. How I was blessed to have had such a dedicated, great teacher who stayed with us as long as it took to learn the day's lesson! Who fed us his mother's home-made chocolate chip cookies and then drove us home in his prized antique car! More importantly, Mr. Flanagan taught us lessons that transcended the classroom. I still remember that Lurch from the Adams Family had tic-dol-arol, and I really can't believe that Mr. Flanagan taught me to use a slide ruler like a pro! These life lessons that we respect each other and his ability to teach, such complicated topics and make them appear easy has enabled us to possess the ability to think on our feet. Moreover, Mr. Flanagan loved and respected us, and wanted all of us to succeed in life. I have prayed for Mr. Flanagan for the majority of my life, and I will continue to hold Mr. Bill Flanagan in my heart. When I meet him again, I hope Mr. Flanagan will join Angel Gabriel so he could recite my name just like he did over 30 years ago on the first day of class. God Bless you all and I am so sorry for your loss.