W. Harold "Sonny" Flowers Jr. ('71), a prominent Boulder attorney known for his perseverance and efforts to make CU Boulder and the University of Colorado Law School more inclusive, died July 29, 2020.
Flowers was an integral part of the University of Colorado Law School and CU Boulder communities for the last 50 years. He served as a champion for diversity at Colorado Law, traveling the state to recruit students of color, helping to establish CU Boulder’s Black Alumni Association, and creating an endowed scholarship for students of color at both Colorado Law and the University of Denver.
A litigator with Boulder’s Hurth, Sisk & Blakemore, LLP, Flowers was a leader in Colorado’s legal community whose service included the presidencies of the Sam Cary Bar Association, the Boulder County Bar Association, and the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association.
Over the decades he served the University of Colorado as president of the Alumni Association’s board of directors, chair of the Colorado Law Alumni Board, member of the CU Foundation board, and mentor of Black student-athletes. In 2016, he was recognized with the Alumni Association’s George Norlin Award. This year, he received Colorado Law’s Distinguished Achievement Award—Solo/Small Firm Practitioner.
Flowers at a law school event in 2019.
Professor Anna Spain Bradley recalled that Flowers fought for social justice and racial equality since he was a college student at CU in the 1960s. She said that Flowers "made CU and Boulder a better place for so many, including me and my family."
"I will remember Sonny for his strength, incredible perseverance, and good humor. He had the best laugh," she said, sharing Flowers' words in a recent message he sent her: "With enough voices, mountains may indeed be moved!"
Flowers' life and contributions to the law school will be celebrated at the virtual Alumni Awards Banquet on Sept. 23.
The family requests that donations in Flowers' memory be directed to the Penfield Tate II Memorial Scholarship Fund.