John A. Flanagan

John A. Flanagan, age 83, passed away at home on June 25, with his wife Marti and daughter Molly holding his hands.

John was born November 29, 1942, in Sioux City, Iowa, the eldest son of Maurice and Lorna Flanagan. He attended St. Benedict’s College, Atchison, Kansas, for two years, then transferred to the University of Iowa in Iowa City, graduating in 1964 with a B.A. He moved to Washington D.C., where he received his J.D. from Georgetown University in 1968.

He clerked for a U.S. Tax Court judge, and in 1968 joined the United States Department of Justice as a prosecuting attorney in the Tax Division. He tried cases across the United States, always intrigued that so many people from Cincinnati he met in Washington wanted to return home.

Thus, it was no surprise in 1974 he accepted a position as tax professor at the University of Cincinnati Law School. He truly loved teaching and taught full-time for four years. He remained on the faculty as an adjunct professor for the next twenty-five years. In 1978, Joe Head of Graydon, Head & Ritchey convinced John to join the firm as a tax partner. He later expanded his practice to include media law, representing The Cincinnati Enquirer for many years.

John was a member of the District of Columbia and Cincinnati Bar Associations.

He also was a proud member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick and served as President in 1986. He met his wife Marti at The Enquirer, during preparations for the 1982 banquet. Bill Keating was president; Marti helped coordinate the details. Their first date was March 17, after the annual banquet. They married in May, beginning a wonderful 44-year marriage. Their daughter Molly was born on Valentine’s Day in 1985.

For many years John was an enthusiastic member of the Queen City Anglers Guild. He loved the annual fishing trips, but it was the friends he made that meant more than the fish he caught. For two years, he coached his daughter Molly’s Summit grade-school soccer team and was an enthusiastic supporter of all her athletic endeavors throughout her school years.

He was also the proud father of Sean and Katie, who were always an integral part of his life. He fulfilled that role with great joy and pride.

When John and Marti visited Bald Head Island, North Carolina, in 1988, their world shifted, and they knew they found the perfect vacation place. In 1995, they realized their dream of building their “beach house,” only a block from the Atlantic Ocean. John called it his pyramid, and while he will be buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, his spirit will always be alive on that special island he so deeply loved.

He will be remembered for his wonderful sense of Irish humor, his wonderful intellect and quick wit. Never shying away from facilitating a lively debate, he was a frequent instigator at many family dinners. A quintessential eldest child, he was a natural-born leader. He spoke with a confident and reassuring tone. It’s no wonder he readily gave insightful and sound advice to all who sought his counsel. He was a voracious reader on a wide variety of topics from wildlife to history and current events. A devoted Catholic, John inspired others with his deep faith.

Above all, John loved his family, first and foremost. He fiercely put them at the head of the line in all he did. He is survived by his wife Martha Lang Flanagan; his son Sean M. Flanagan and his wife Marina, his grandchildren Megan and Jack; his daughter Kathryn Flanagan Gehring and her husband Michael, his grandchildren Andrew and Abigail; Molly Flanagan Roberts and her husband Drew; and his grandchildren, Elizabeth and Gordon.

He is also survived by his three siblings: Daniel, St. Albans, MO, and his wife Linda; Margaret Dretsch, Rochester, MN, and her husband Rodney; and Michael, Sioux City, IA, and his wife Janet; his brothers-in-law William J. Lang and Gordon A. Lang, sister-in-law Janet L. Tedeschi, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, from both his family and Marti’s.

Funeral services have been held, with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery. If so inclined, memorial contributions in John’s memory may be made to Neediest Kids of All (neediestkidsofall.com) or the Karen Wellington Foundation (karenwellingtonfoundation.org).