James William Flanders Jr.

1933 - 2023

FLANDERS

JAMES WILLIAM FLANDERS JR.

James William Flanders, Jr. died from complications of advanced dementia on November 15, 2023. His wife, Susan, was by his side. He was predeceased by his first wife, Claire Altenburger Flanders, who died in 2003



James William Flanders, Jr. was born in 1933 in Meriden, CT, to Helen and James William Flanders. He attended Andover Academy and Yale University, where he was the president of the glee club. Before finishing Yale, Bill traveled to France where he met a young and spirited French woman named Claire whom he married in 1956. They were married for 47 years and had four children: John, Lili, Sonia and Will.



After returning to the US, Bill graduated from Yale and earned an M. Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary. During the following decade, Bill worked as an Episcopal priest in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, DC.



During the social and political turmoil of the late sixties, Bill's growing frustration with what he then saw as a hypocritical institution led him to leave the church and pursue a career in music. The family moved to DC and Bill opened the Singer's Studio, where he taught a method of training non-singers to sing and hosted musical evenings for performers from across the region. He also wrote and composed his own songs and produced several albums, as well as a musical. Bill was active in local Yale Alumni concerts as well as worldwide tours with the full Yale Alumni Chorus.



The family often traveled back to France, and Bill and Claire raised their children bilingually. They were introduced to Truro on Cape Cod by friends and eventually built a vacation home there where they spent a part of every summer. Four generations of the family continue to enjoy the tradition of gathering there.



Bill eventually returned to the church and rejoined St. Mark's parish in DC, where he served as adjunct clergyman and wrote hymns, which were occasionally played during services. After Claire died, Bill married Susan Gresinger, an Episcopal priest whom he had known and worked with since 1987. So began the second love story of his life. Bill and Susan were married for eighteen years and shared faith, a love of family, music, travel and the coasts of Cape Cod and Maine along with their dogs, Barney and then Sparky.



In addition to Susan, his four children and their spouses, Bill is survived by 10 grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, his sister, Betty Foster, two nephews and a niece. Bill loved and was loved by many friends and leaves us all with the ache of his absence, but also with the music of his long and rich life.



There will be Celebration of Bill's life at St. Columba's Episcopal Church, 4201 Albemarle St. NW on Saturday, December 2 at 11 a.m.