Joan FLEMING

Joan Fleming, one of our city's great patrons of the arts and of Houston itself, passed away on April 4, 2012. She attended the Brearley School in New York City, Smith College and earned her undergraduate degree from Barnard College in 1951.
She moved to Houston in 1952 with her husband, William T. Fleming, and began her long and productive association with Houston's cultural arts. Initially working under the bright lights, she sang soprano in the chorus for local productions of The Mikado and HMS Pinafore before soloing in the role of Mrs. Darling in the Houston Civic Theatre's production of Peter Pan. Moving off-stage, she served as a founding member and later Secretary of the Houston Grand Opera Guild. Joan served the Houston Symphony for over thirty years in various capacities: as an ex-officio member, Houston Symphony Society Board of Directors; Chair, Women's Division, Symphony Maintenance Fund; full member, Board of Trustees (serving as Parliamentarian and Education Chairman); member, Board of Advisors, and member, the Women's Committee (later the Houston Symphony League). Her work with the Symphony attracted the attention of Ima Hogg and, following an invitation to tea with Miss Ima, Joan joined the inaugural class of the Docents of Bayou Bend. Joan served as Founder and Member, Friends of Baylor College of Medicine; Cultural Committee Member, the Houston Chamber of Commerce; Advisory Trustee, Museum of Fine Arts; member, Houston Arts Council, serving as chairperson, allocations Panel for Major Institutions and Advisory Board Member; Advisory Committee Member, Blaffer Gallery of the University of Houston; member, Board of Directors, Contemporary Arts Museum; member, Houston Junior League, and member and Past President, Houston Philosophical Society.
Joan was also active in other community volunteer activities, including member, Board of Directors, Houston YWCA; member, Board of Directors, Community Welfare Planning Association; and Chair, Multiple Sclerosis Patient Service Committee. She broke from the action long enough to earn a Masters Degree from the UT School of Public Health in 1975. She then served as Director, Patient Communication for the Glaucoma Service and Research Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine. Following her time at Baylor College of Medicine, she worked as a court-appointed special children's advocate for the Harris County juvenile court system.
Joan will long be remembered for her outstanding record of involvement and support of many national and local organizations. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her, whether as a supporter of the arts, the grande dame of Raintree Place, a Roman slave girl, a friend, a mother or a grandmother.
Joan is preceded in death by her parents, Charlton B. Hibbard and Esther B. Hibbard, and former husbands William T. Fleming and George Aldridge. She is survived by her sons Alexander T. Fleming, William C. Fleming and wife Norma; cousins David S. Bender and Courtland S. Bender; and grandchildren Alexandra B. Fleming, Amy Kathleen Fleming, Elizabeth R. Fleming and Victoria J. Fleming.
The family would like to express their deepest thanks and appreciation to Ms. Ernestine Reason for the care and friendship given their mother.
A celebration of Joan's life will be held at eleven o'clock in the morning on Saturday, April 28, 2012 at the Bradshaw-Carter Home, 1734 West Alabama Street, Houston 77098.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Houston Symphony, 615 Louisiana, Suite 102, Houston, TX 77002. Online tributes may be posted at www.bradshawcarter.com.
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