Ramsey W.J. "Bill" Flynn, a real estate sales executive who was honored as "a pillar of his industry," died of heart failure Wednesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. He was 83 and lived at the Mercy Ridge retirement community in Timonium.
Mr. Flynn had been an owner of the firm O'Conor Piper & Flynn, one of the largest real estate agencies in Maryland, now owned by Coldwell Banker.
"He was a force in the real estate industry in Baltimore," said Richard J. Roszel, a Coldwell Banker agent. "He was a no-nonsense man of enormous integrity. He had a strong personality and was thoroughly knowledgeable."
Born in Baton Rouge, La., and raised in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Mr. Flynn attended Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle, N.Y., and enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He was a radio operator in the South Pacific.
After the war, he earned a degree in architecture at Catholic University of America in Washington.
He married Mary Jane "Mike" Gallagher of Pelham Manor, N.Y., and they moved to Towson in 1953. He worked at the Dulaney-Vernay Printing Co., where helped design the daily-double ticket used at race courses.
The Flynns settled in the Towson neighborhood of Wiltondale, where they raised seven children.
"He was truly the patriarch of his family," said his son-in-law, John Runge of Towson. "He was a well-liked, straight shooter. Many friends would confide in him. He was never too busy to share his time."
After getting his real estate license in 1955, Mr. Flynn worked in the field before forming his own firm with James P. O'Conor, a son of former Maryland Gov. Herbert R. O'Conor.
"The two were quite the dynamic duo, and their firm quickly grew, taking on so many agents of Irish ancestry that they sometimes jokingly called themselves 'The Irish Mafia,'" said his son, Ramsey W.J. Flynn III of Timonium.
After a merger of five firms in 1984, the new business, O'Conor, Piper & Flynn, employed 2,200 agents in 45 offices in Central Maryland, Ocean City and southern Pennsylvania.
"One of the most striking things about Dad is that he was hands-on," said Maureen Flynn of Towson, a Coldwell Banker agent. "He was the guy changing light bulbs in the office, unclogging a customer's toilet on Thanksgiving Day or personally building a float for the Fourth of July parade. He knew the switchboard operators, the cleaning crews and even the guy that delivered the newspaper at the office. … He rolled up his sleeves and got it done."
Mr. Flynn embraced new technology. He and his business partner equipped their agent's cars with citizens band radios. He worked to bring computer listings into his business.
"Bill was an innovator," said a former partner, John G. Evans of Lutherville. "When he saw a technology coming down the line, he led that charge."
The firm was acquired by NRT in 1998, becoming O'Conor Piper & Flynn ERA, later part of Coldwell Banker.
"My father quietly retired soon after the transition and often expressed his disdain for the life of a retired man," said his son. "He missed being large and in charge, everybody's go-to guy. When anyone called with a personal crisis, my father's refrain rarely varied: 'I'm on my way.' "
In 2000, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors described him as "a pillar of the industry." Mr. Flynn was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.
"My father was phenomenally generous with his time and seemed to thrive on opportunities to build people up past their own expectations," his son said. "His voice boomed, even when he wasn't trying. When he cleared his throat in church, all seven of his young children would straighten their spines and fall silent. But the really funny thing was that the same effect would befall perfect strangers in the nearby pews."
A funeral Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. Monday at the Stella Maris Chapel, 2300 Dulaney Valley Road.
In addition to his son and daughter, survivors include his wife of 57 years; another son, Brian Flynn of Littlestown, Pa.; four other daughters, Kathleen Flynn of Towson, Eileen Toohey of Lutherville, Tara Runge of Towson and Dorie Flynn of Lutherville; and 14 grandchildren.