I was extremely saddened to hear today of the unexpected passing of former journalist and former Harris County District Attorney's Office spokesman George Flynn.
I first met George through Mike Hinton, who loved nothing more than getting together with George and telling stories from the old days. His war stories were priceless. He was an amazing gateway to the history of Harris County's criminal justice system.
He would write in to the blog on occasion over the years and he very much had a sense of right and wrong about the goings on at the Office. I can't say that I knew him as well as his friends from those old days, but I knew him as a man who the truth mattered greatly to.
Mostly, I knew George Flynn as a very kind and humble man.
My thoughts and prayers go out to George's family.
3 comments:
So post-Lykos, this is just an obituary blog and an outlet for your lugubrious lamentations?
George was a good friend and a good journalist.
Ken Magidson hired George as the first flack for the Harris County DA's office.
As a former reporter who covered the office from Carol Vance days through much of Johnny Holmes's administration, I always thought it was a mistake. Carol and Johnny were always available to me as were all of the assistant DA's. There is a reason Carol and Johnny were the most secure and popular elected officials in Harris County and I think a lot of it was their personal relationship with the reporters who covered them.
Their successors lacked that rapport and it cost them politically. Chuck Rosenthal and Pat Lycos were never trusted by reporters like Carol and Johnny were. It cost them.
All of this being said, I will miss George. I'm getting to the age where I see old friends at other friends' funerals. The last time I saw George was at a funeral. And I'm sure I'll see a lot of friends at his.
George, you were one of the pros. You and your kind will be missed in the world of journalism.
I got to know George professionally back in the '70's when I was trying cases and George reported the criminal court house beat for the Post. I had great respect for him then - he was someone you could trust. I gradually became personal friends with him as the years passed. It was a real honor to work with him as a fellow employee at the D.A.'s Office after he came on board under Ken Magidson. Sometimes I would end up at social settings with several people who did not know George well. It was always amusing to watch as George would comment on various topics in his quiet manner and frequently before he was finished someone would interupt and distract attention but George would continue and those who knew him would continue to listen because we were usually rewarded with some pearl of humor that was well worth our continued focus. Gradually as these new acquaintances who had initially been distracted got to know him better, they also began to listen till the end and learned how interesting and funny a man he was. My heart goes to Cindy and George's family (and to me - who has lost a wonderful friend). R.I.P. Bert.
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