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Donald Featherstone was just out of art school in 1957 when a
plastics company called on him to make their flat designs
three-dimensional. He made a model of one of the long-legged
birds by consulting photos in National Geographic magazine, as
the flamingo is not commonly found in New England.
"He had a wonderful sense of humor, and was happy to have
created something that brought pleasure to so many people," his
widow, Nancy Featherstone, said in a phone interview.
The couple kept 57 plastic flamingos in their backyard, she
added, as a reminder of "where their bread was buttered."
A friend and former colleague of Featherstone's, Bruce Zarozny,
said the designer had been "incredibly proud" of the bird, one
of some 600 lawn ornaments the designer turned out in a long
career.
"You'd see him working on things: Santa Claus, snowmen, ducks,"
said Zarozny, president of Cado Co, which in the early 2000s
acquired Union Products, the original producer of the flamingo.
"It was his passion."
Featherstone retired in 1999.
He died on Monday at an elder care facility in Fitchburg, west
of Boston. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two
children, Judith Nelson and Harold Featherstone, four
grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
(Editing by Scott Malone and Eric Walsh)
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