MARGARET FLOWERS SOBEL

1940-2021

Margaret Flowers Sobel died at Holly Hall Retirement Community in Houston, Texas, on September 29, 2021 soon after her 81st birthday.

Margaret was born in Washington, D.C., to Margaret and Farrand Flowers, on September 25, 1940. She and her mother moved to Baltimore, Maryland, shortly thereafter for the duration of her father’s four-year deployment in WWII.

In 1950 the family moved to Houston where she attended Kinkaid School, graduating in 1958. Margaret went on to Smith College as a History of Art major and spent her Junior Year Abroad studying at the Sorbonne and the Institut de Phonétique in Paris. She graduated with B.A. degree in 1962, then returned to France for another year of study.

She obtained her Ph.D. in French Language and Literature from Rice University in 1969. Her dissertation was entitled “The Role of the Individual in the Novels of André Malraux,” for which she was awarded the John W. Gardner Medal. While at Rice, she met and married Professor of Architecture Robert Sobel. Margaret had a number of academic assignments in European

literature and languages at Rice and at the University of Houston, and subsequently in Virginia and Maryland.

She was a lifelong Francophile, active in the Alliance Française, and made several extended trips to France. In later life, she earned her Certificate of Professional Horticulture and became active in Literacy and Dyslexia tutoring in Baltimore.

After her parents died, she moved to Seattle in 2010 to be near her brother James. There she continued her interest in gardening and landscaping as a volunteer at the University of Washington Horticulture Center. She moved back to Houston in 2019 where she was re-united with former classmates and colleagues.

During her life, Margaret enjoyed the company of several wire-haired fox terriers. The family is grateful to the American Fox Terrier Rescue of Texas for finding a home for her terrier, Andy.

Margaret’s family is also especially grateful to the staff of Vantage Hospice and Holly Hall for the care she received there.

Margaret is survived by her brother James Flowers and his wife Otero Flowers, their children Benjamin Flowers and Katherine Flowers, and her husband Michael Black, and by her two first cousins, Ann Wilson and Lucy Rumpf.

Memorial gifts may be made to Vantage Hospice, Holly Hall, or the Alliance Française of Houston.