William D. Flagg, 1944 – 2016
Bill Flagg was a long-time Simmental breeder and Pennsylvania Simmental Association member. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.
William David “Bill” Flagg, age 72, of Elverson, Pennsylvania, passed away on the morning of June 15, 2016 at Warren Point, his farm and residence of the past 22 years.
Bill was born May 10, 1944, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, the second child of Stanley Griswold Flagg IV and Elizabeth Nichols Flagg. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Karen Sloan Flagg; sons, William David “Dean” Flagg, Jr. (Erica), and Christopher King Flagg; brother, Michael Flagg; and sister, Carol Stevens (Robert).
Bill grew up on Anselma Farm in Chester Springs, attending the Booth School in Bryn Mawr and developing what would become a lifelong affection for rural life and the hard work associated with it. He served in the United States Air Force from 1964 to 1968, which included time stationed at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
Bill’s amiable and gregarious manner was a perfect fit at Ye Old Ale House in Berwyn, where he tended bar, and cemented lifelong friendships, from 1969 to 1983. It was here, also, where, in 1974, he met Karen Sloan, whom he married in June, 1977 at the St. Katharine of Siena Church in Wayne.
Bill and Karen purchased Pickering Meadow Farm in Schuylkill Township in 1978, and acquired their first Simmental cow, Lady, in 1979. The first of many! Before long raising cattle and making hay became Bill’s full time vocation, both at Pickering Meadow Farm until 1994, and afterward at Warren Point. At its peak the Flagg farm had 92 head of Simmental cattle, filled 5 haybarns with over 20,000 bales, and sold cattle and genetic stock across the country and beyond, to China, Costa Rica and Poland!
Throughout his life Bill championed the causes he cared about through his involvement in associations of his peers and in the community, holding leadership positions in the Pennsylvania Simmental Association, Southeast Pennsylvania Cattlemen’s Association, The French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust, and serving as Township Supervisor of Schuylkill Township, Pennsylvania. An avid foxhunter, Bill rode with the Pickering Hunt Club, the Addis Fox Hunt, and most recently, The Kimberton Hunt Club.
With an affable personality, Bill was quick to win a place in the hearts of those he met. He will be remembered as a kind, caring, and generous man by all of “his people!”
A memorial service will take place 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, July 06, 2016 at Daylesford Abbey, 220 South Valley Road, Paoli, preceded by visitation starting at 9:30 a.m.
Interment will be private at Old St. David’s Cemetery, Wayne, alongside his father and grandfather.
In celebration of Bill’s support of conservation and love of agriculture, memorial donations may be made to the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust (www.frenchandpickering.org) or the Chester County 4H Center, Inc. (PO Box 697, Honey Brook, PA 19344).
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