MARIAN WILKIN FLEMING

1928-2021

Marian Wilkin Fleming, 93, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and cherished friend, passed away gracefully during a powerful thunderstorm on Sunday, August 15, 2021, at her home in Austin. In her long multi-faceted life, Marian evolved continually through the years. She was independent and strong both by nature and necessity. She was engaged and engaging, inquisitive and adventurous. She loved to try new things and she wanted to share all that she learned. She was a relentlessly positive booster that helped many friends, relatives, and acquaintances by the example of her courage, her freely shared wisdom and her loving faith.

A native Houstonian, Marian was born June 17, 1928, the middle child of Frederick (“Fritz”) Alexander Fleming and Lillian Giddings Wilkin. Along with older brother, Freck, and younger brother, Bob, she grew up on Mandell Street, where their father kept bees in the backyard.

She attended Edgar Allen Poe Elementary, Sidney Lanier and Lamar High School. She attended Mount Vernon College for Women (now George Washington University) in Washington, D.C., and was president of the student body. She enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin, where she joined the Pi Beta Phi sorority, and was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1949.

It was at UT, on a date after the Rice vs. Texas football game, that she met the love of her life, William Gano Houstoun (Bill). She and Bill were married in the chapel of St. John’s Church in Houston three months after she graduated and soon thereafter began their own family. Her idyllic suburban world ended with Bill’s death from cancer in 1967, leaving her a young widow to raise five kids, and the tragically painful loss of her eldest son six years later. Despite such turmoil, Marian remained steadfast to her family and over time developed a remarkably affirming outlook on life. A fervent Jungian, she came to believe that we are challenged to enlargement not diminishment by events.

A lifelong Episcopalian, she attended Trinity, St. John’s and Christ Church Cathedral over the years and became a Stephen Minister, received her Education for Ministry (EFM) certification, and served as a Lay Eucharist Minister (LEM). A lifelong learner, she took psychology courses at the Jung Center of Houston and writing classes at Chautauqua Institute in New York. She also became a Master Gardener.

Marian was active in social causes, sought to understand drug and alcohol addiction, and served at the Houston Child Guidance Center. She felt aligned to the plight of the underdog and was a proud Democrat, an active supporter of EMILY’S List, and a strong believer in Women’s Rights.

Marian loved people and engaging conversation. She had regular lunches with her bridge group friends, she was a member of the Junior League of Houston and the Literatae book club. She enjoyed the New Yorker Magazine, especially the Talk of the Town, the New York Times, the theatre, and all travel.

She went on many trips with friends both domestically and internationally. She loved popcorn, Bluebell ice cream and rooting for the Astros and the Rockets. More than anything, Marian loved her children and grandchildren.

It was after the loss of her own mother that Marian moved to her family property near Addick’s and began a decades long career as a tree farmer and conservationist. An early partner with the

Soil Conservation Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife, Marian was one of the first recipients of the Lone Star Land Stewardship award. A devoted environmentalist, Marian fought with housing developers, the County Commissioners, and the Army Corps of Engineers to keep Bear Creek Tree Farm a natural habitat for wildlife in a rapidly changing urban area, and she mostly won. Texas Wildlife magazine last year called her farm “a stunning example of a remnant Coastal Prairie” and one of the few such areas left in Harris County.

The Farm was always the place of her happiest memories and she proudly made it the site of family gatherings for over six decades; hosting family weddings, “Camp Meemaw” for her grandchildren, memorial services, retreat weekends, and more than thirty years of Thanksgiving celebrations that bring together first, second and third cousins, as well as many assorted friends.

Marian is predeceased by her husband, William G. Houstoun, her eldest son William G. Houstoun, Jr. (Billy) as well as her brothers, Robert S. Fleming, and Frederick A. Fleming Jr., (Freck). She is survived by her four children and their spouses: John and Wendy Houstoun of Windsor, CO; Margot and Scott Ritchie of Austin; Jim and Jeri Houstoun of Austin; and Richard and Mimi Houstoun of Bethesda, MD, as well as by her fourteen grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.

The family thanks the caregivers from Home Care Assistance of Austin, especially Teresa Carter, a true wonder worker the past six years. In lieu of flowers, the family asks contributions be made to Hospice of Austin, Christ Church Cathedral of Houston, or to the charity or hospice of your choice. Due to the coronavirus, a memorial service will be held at a future date.