Dionicio Vidal Flores

Dionicio Vidal “Sonny” Flores passed on August 14, 2026, at the age of 90. He is survived by his sister, Sylvia Couch; his niece, Katherine Couch; and his children: his daughter, Libby Flores; his son, Adam Flores and his wife, Natalie Flores; and his two beloved grandchildren.

Dionicio Vidal “Sonny” Flores was born on May 5, 1936, in the small town of Falfurrias, Texas. Growing up in Falfurrias, and could be seen playing marbles—he won so many games that he had jars full of them. His parents, Tomasa and Dionicio Flores, owned and operated the Flores Meat Market, where his father was also the butcher. Sonny attended Falfurrias High School. In English class, the American writers and poets "touched his being," but he focused on math and science classes, thinking one day he might become an engineer. He said that his biggest accomplishment in high school was "taking the most beautiful girl to the senior ball."

After high school in 1954, he enrolled in Texas A&M University. He worked at the mess hall and did odd jobs to earn his tuition. One of his fondest memories was singing with his quartet, The Silvertones, at the Texas A&M Aggie Talent Contest. (They would go on to have a one-hit wonder in Houston, only to disband after that.) At the University, Sonny was also in the Corps of Cadets. In 1959, the proudest day of his life, he graduated with a Bachelor's in Engineering and with his commission.

After college, Sonny enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as Captain from 1959-1962. Afterwards, he settled in Houston, where he met Elizabeth W. Flores, his former wife, and raised two children in the neighborhood near the Rice Village. He became a civil engineer serving under the tutelage of such engineering greats as Howard Tellepsen, Mason Lockwood, and Frank Newman. In 1980, Sonny Flores founded his own civil engineering firm in Houston, Paragon Engineers and Construction, later to be rebranded as PEC, focusing solely on engineering.

For decades, Sonny was a prominent civil engineer in Houston and civic leader who was active in many organizations. Sonny served as president and board member of the Houston Jr. Chamber of Commerce from 1966-1972 and was a founding member of the International Seamen’s Center.

He was also involved in many other initiatives and foundations: the Child Care Council of Houston, Volunteers of America, the USO Houston Branch, the Chairman and Executive Committee for the Houston Festival, Board Member for the Salvation Army, the Cultural Arts Council of Houston, the Metro March of Dimes, the Society for the Performing Arts, the M.D. Anderson Cancer Foundation, the Green Ribbon Committee for Joint City and the County for Master Planning Area Parks System, the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Houston Private Sector Initiatives, the Hispanic Forum, the C-Club, the East End Chamber of Commerce, the Buffalo Bayou Coalition, the Mid-Town Redevelopment Authority, the Harris County Hospital District, the East End Management District, the Harris County Hospital District, the Palanca PAC, and the Clean Houston Commission. He served as the Chairman of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce PAC.

In 1976, Sonny received the Volunteer of the Year Savvy Award. In 1982, he received the Volunteer of the Year Award from United Way of Texas Gulf Coast. He received a Special Recognition Award from the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 1998.

In addition to being a Houstonian, Sonny served greater Texas when he became a commissioner on the State of Texas General Services Commission. He was a board member of the United Way of Texas and on the Speaker's Committee on the Criminal Justice Council. In 2006, Governor Rick Perry named him to run the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Sonny retired from PEC when he turned eighty, but continued to consult on projects and serve his community. After many years bound to Houston, he decided to see the world. He traveled for several years, visiting over one hundred countries with a group of curious adventurers; Iran and Croatia were the highlights of his journeys. He loved going to College Station to watch the football games with his oldest friends, visiting his sister, eating Tex-Mex at his beloved establishments, watching old movies such a An Affair to Remember—that one on repeat—listening to Frank Sinatra records, catching a baseball game at Enron Field (now Daikin Park), where he was one of the project managers of construction, and spending time with his family.

His favorite pastime was watching his family at work in the kitchen and eating his favorite dishes, his mother's recipes that had been passed through generations. Sonny will be dearly missed and remembered for his humor, his laugh, his magnanimous smile, his sharp intellect, his perseverance, and the significant impact on everyone and everything he touched.