June 30, 1942 — Oct. 8, 2014

Orion Henry Flowers Jr., age 72, of Marcellus, Michigan passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014, at Rose Arbor Hospice.

He was born to Orion Sr. and Almeda Flowers in Chicago, Illinois. They moved to Cassopolis, Michigan to become known as the first Grade A, African American dairy farmers in the state of Michigan.

His parents are deceased.

Surviving are his son, Orion H. Flowers III, and Orion Jr.’s partner Cindy Bewick. Orion was the Executive Director of Tri-County Head Start (Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren) for 34 years. During that time, he grew the program to provide services from 96 students to more than 1200 students. His program was one of only 15 single purpose agencies in the country. During the course if his tenure, more than 10,000 students and families were served.

Orion enjoyed all relationships with speed, in particular classic cars, motorcycles, Corvettes and speedboats. He also enjoyed time spent on his sailboat on the waters of Lake Michigan.

A celebration of life will be held Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, at Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Westside Chapel, 3926 South 9th Street in Oshtemo, MI. Friends can meet with the family at 10 a.m. with a celebration service beginning at 11 a.m. A light luncheon will follow.

We encourage friends and families to drive their classic cars to the chapel.

Orion has been cremated. Anyone wishing to remember Orion may make a donation to The National Corvette Museum in Bloomington, Illinois, Cass County Council on Aging or a scholarship fund to be established in Orion’s name on behalf of any Head Start alum entering Southwestern Michigan Community College in Cassopolis. Please visit Orion’s personalized webpage at www.langelands.com