Rock garden expert, mother of Harvard woman
Marion Flook. (Courtesy photo)
Marion “Marnie” Montgomery Flook, 83, former archivist for the North American Rock Garden Society, died Saturday, Oct. 27, 2007 at Heron Point in Chestertown, Md.
An avid horticulturist, Mrs. Flook specialized in rock gardens and alpine flowers and developed noteworthy gardens, which were frequently open to tours by gardening groups, at both her homes. Mrs. Flook served on the Board of Trustees of Longwood Gardens (1972-1988) and as vice president, director, and, for 20 years, archivist for the North American Rock Garden Society. In 1997 her book, The History of Rock Gardening in North America, was published. She was guest editor of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Handbook on Rock Gardening, contributing articles to it and many other publications over the years. She also taught college courses on rock gardening and gave slide lectures at museums, colleges, and meetings around the world. She received many awards throughout her career, including the Award of Merit from the Rock Garden Society.
In addition to her love of horticulture, Mrs. Flook was well known for her collections of miniatures. She was an active member of the Miniature Book Society for several decades. The Marnie Flook Miniature Book Collection of more than 2,000 volumes is now part of the University of Delaware’s special collections.
She was a lifelong student, maintaining an enthusiastic interest in topics ranging from 1930s and ’40s jazz to opera, biotechnology and world history. Together with her husband, Bill, she photographed plants and explored remote areas such as the Canadian Rockies, Tasmania, South Africa, Madagascar, and the sub-Antarctic Islands. While she traveled around the world, she particularly loved the Chesapeake Bay and especially her home on Langford Creek.
Marnie was born in Norwood, the daughter of the late Spencer B. and Eleanor G. Montgomery. She received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Radcliffe College in1944 (class of 1945).
While she was working as one of the first disc jockeys at WHRB, Harvard’s jazz radio station, Marnie met William Mowat Flook Jr., who helped build the station. They married in 1945 and lived in Greenville, Del. for 25 years, maintaining a second home in Chestertown on Langford Creek. They moved full time to Chestertown in 1991.
Mrs. Flook is survived by her sisters, Jane M. Brooks of Concord and Sally B. Montgomery of Omaha, Neb.; and by her brother, Parker G. Montgomery of Santa Barbara, Calif. In addition to her siblings, Mrs. Flook is survived by her five children, William M. Flook, III of Crownsville, Md.; Margaret F. Lisberger of Santa Monica, Calif.; David M. Flook of Holmdel, N.J.; Robert S. Flook of Raleigh, N.C.; and Virginia F. Kendall of Harvard. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She will be remembered with great love by family and friends.
Family services will be held at a later date. The family suggests that donations in her memory can be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 162 Prince George St., Annapolis, MD 21401.
