MEMORIALS
Thoughts and memories of fellow members
124 topics in this forum
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A Tribute to Paul Drummond
by TikiRick- 7 replies
- 6.3k views
Paul Andrew Drummond (April 15, 1924 – September 15, 2007) Born to a physician father and a loving, stay at home mother, Paul was raised in New York City during an age of the city’s “reinvention” from crime, poverty, and the desperation of crowded immigrants to the welcoming diversity of people, religion, cultures, and the arts. As a youngster, adventuresome Paul thrived on the continual thrill the big city atmosphere offered including riding the subways and exploring Central Park….all alone and by eight years of age. After his physician father met a premature accidental death, his independent mother was determined to afford the lifestyle Paul and his brother was…
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Jim Wright, San Diego, CA
by Phil- 18 replies
- 6k views
Mod Edit: Another topic dedicated to Jim's memory is HERE Readers and Palm Society Members It saddens me deeply to tell you of the passing of a dear friend of mine and the Palm Society, Jim Wright. Jim was one of the original members of the PSSC and the IPS. He started collecting palms and planting out his garden in the Bay Park area of San Diego in the early 1960's. His garden has been on tour many times for the enjoyment of Palm Society members. He has written many articles for Society publications and was an excellent grower of rare palm species. He propagated many plants himself. He was a true friend of many. Known for his hospitality and friendly nature,…
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I Miss my Mom
by Jeff Searle- 11 replies
- 5.9k views
Wal came up with an excellent suggestion. So, I would like to say that my mother passed away eleven years ago and I still miss her so much. My parents were married for 47 years and and had got married after only meeting and getting to know each other for 3 months. My dad still gets choked up if she comes into conversations. We all do for that matter. She was a great mom, well loved by many,many friends and volunteered thousands of hours with her church. She worked in the hospital for over 35 years as a register nurse, she had a big heart and loved to help others. To this day, she comes up in our thoughts quite often. Jeff Searle
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Sad day - Allan Bredeson 1 2
by Alberto- 2 followers
- 44 replies
- 5.9k views
Very sad day,A few minutes ago we heard about the passing away from our dear friend Allan. Family, friends, palms, travelling where his passions. We all will miss him for sure
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Noel Lake Memorial
by tank- 3 replies
- 5.8k views
I am posting this memorial for Merrill Wilcox.
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Alaric Prince
by palmazon- 5 replies
- 5.7k views
Last Saturday, I was both surprised and saddened to hear Al Prince passed on. For those who don't know, he donated his time as Back Issues chairman for the Southern California Palm Society - he was the white guy with dreadlocks attending most meetings; he also shared a booth at the Fullerton Arboretum Show & Sale. He ran a nursery called Suburban Paradise - the impression he gave me was a modest hobbyist operation in Anaheim. Through an associate, I learned he was growing some unusual palms - Irving Cantor's Chamaedorea hybrid, Trachycarpus takil, and some germination attempts with 'mule' Butiagrus seed. We only became acquainted when I contacted him regarding a form…
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Widow of Doctor U.A. Young RIP
by Palmateer- 16 replies
- 5.7k views
Many of us still remember the hospitality and friendship of Ben Young (November 7, 1922 - July 9, 2011), wife of the late U. A. Young, MD. She died in Tampa. U.A. Young was President of the Palm Society in the mid-1970s.
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R I P Ralph Velez
by DoomsDave- 1 follower
- 25 replies
- 5.6k views
Everyone: We are deeply saddened to inform that Ralph Velez, one of our longest-serving members, has passed away, on April 24th, 2018, in a hospice in Orange County after a long illness. He will always be remembered for his lifelong enthusiasm about palm culture and a long serving member of the IPS, as well as the Palm Society for Southern California.. More details will be provided when they become available.
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RIP George Sparkman
by joe_OC- 17 replies
- 5.5k views
With a heavy heart, I am sharing the news of George’s passing. I will miss him and his dry humor. Cancer sucks.
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Black Olive Nursery
by Jeff Searle- 6 replies
- 5.4k views
Mark was found yesterday in his home with no heartbeat. Unfortunately, Mark just could not fight off his need for painkillers and drugs. Very sad. Mark had one of the nicest retail and wholesale nurseries in all of south Florida. He was known to many and will be missed.
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Dick Johnson has passed
by JEFF from Trabuco Canyon CA- 2 replies
- 5.4k views
I only meet him a couple of times and enjoyed talking cycads with him. He had a wealth of knowledge of plants. He had a great collection of plants and I believe he had a plant named after him. He will be missed in the plant community. I hope some people from the board can add some thinks about him.
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Doug Eiss
by bgl- 0 replies
- 5.4k views
I just found out a little while ago that Doug Eiss died on May 1st, 2008. Doug was a good friend, and we always had great conversations about palms and numerous other topics. He lived off the road to Opihikao, just a few miles from Leilani Estates, and he worked at Kapoho Palms for many years, so if any of you bought palms from Kapoho Palms, chances are that Doug was involved. Doug was extremely knowledgeable about all sorts of palms, and he did a great job of growing some real "tough ones" (like Licuala orbicularis and mapu) at Kapoho Palms. Unfortunately, Doug had some serious medical issues the last few years, but - as always - he had a great attitude. Last time I saw …
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The loss of a good palm friend
by iamjv- 3 replies
- 5.4k views
Sadly on Weds (2/20/08) Glynn Whiddon a friend of mine and member of the Palm Society of South Texas passed away. Glynn had been in the palm business in the Rio Grande Valley for 30 some years. His love was palms and tropical plants. Naturally he enjoyed our palm meetings and was always very generous with palm donations to the society. No doubt, the 'palm family' here in Texas, will not be the same with out him... You'll be missed my friend! Jv
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Mrs. Dent Smith, 1927-2009
by Bob Johnson- 8 replies
- 5.3k views
Doris Smith, wife of Palm Society founder Dent Smith, passed away on May 10th. She was 82 years old. A memorial service for Doris will be held at 11 am on Tuesday, June 30th at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, 216 Ridgewood Ave., Daytona Beach, FL. In Lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorial contributions be made to: Hospice of Volusia /Flagler, 3800 Woodbriar Trail, Port Orange FL 32127 or The Tribute Program, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, FL 33156 Doris’ son Rick shares the following about his mother: “Her best friend and traveling companion was Dent. They met while on a tour of Europe. They conti…
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-Bobby, my friend, my brother
by Lindagay- 5 replies
- 5.3k views
I got the call on Friday evening at 10:30 that Bob had passed. I was shocked and speechless as I had just spoken to him 2 weeks prior. Bobby and I had many evening discussions on the phone about plant meetings, palms and the proper pronunciation of the latin genera, that I constantly slaughtered. The first time I met Bob was when he came to Mercer Arboretum around 1998. He had been to the garden before, but visited with our botanist at that time and she was not too much into palms or tropicals. I did not know he had come to the garden then. When Ms. Em (later referred as Ms. Neiman Marcus because she was so much maintenance!) brought him to the garden, we did …
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Glynn Whiddon
by Tad- 5 replies
- 5.2k views
Glynn Whiddon had a heart attack this afternoon around one, one thirty and passed away. A lot of people in the Tx palm society knew Glynn, and owe what they have in their collection to his efforts. He was very knowledgeble about palms,cycads,and plants in general. He owned and ran Rainforest Wholesale Nursery and Landscaping in Harlingen, Tx. He had quite a few friends here on the board and will be missed by many people. He and I had some different views about plants, and other things, but he never hesitated to answer my never ending strings of questions, when we hosted a palm society meeting he gave me several compliments and I was so stoked, that he took notice…
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David Romney...Coconut Authority
by Jeff Searle- 1 follower
- 11 replies
- 5k views
It is with a very sad heart that I pass the news along that Mr. David Romney has passed away a couple of days ago here in south Florida. I believe he was born in Jamaica where he lived many years and worked with the government in the study of coconuts, lethal yellowing and all the developments of newer varieties over the years. He , his wife Shirley and daughter Carol lived in the Homestead area for at least the last 30-40 years or so. The Romney's were always a big vendor at the Fairchild Botanical Gardens palm sales each and every year where many varieties of coconuts could be found. David was a true legend. Over the years, he wrote numerous papers, journals and books. …
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Ken Hill
by Cycadcenter- 6 replies
- 4.7k views
Ken Hill, cycad botanist from Sydney Botanical Gardens passed away this morning following a long illness. Ken was undoubtably the leading cycad botanist in the world with his expertise being cycas and macrozamia where he described about 50 species. He also described the Wollemi pine and was responsible for the reclassification of eucalypts in Australia. Bye friend.
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Jerry Hunter
by Gtlevine- 13 replies
- 4.6k views
My very close and special friend Jerry Hunter has passed away last Friday. Jerry was a legend in the nursery and horticulture business here in San Diego and has contributed so much to all of us. He was the owner of Rancho Soledad Nursery and Rancho Tissue Culture. Jerry sent me to Madagascar back in 2007 to search for new palms which I will never forget. I will miss you Jerry! Gary
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RIP Inge Hoffmann
by Eric in San Jose- 11 replies
- 4.5k views
I've never posted on Palmtalk before, but it has come to my attention that one of the people responsible for the early mass distribution of palm seeds has died. I believe it would be hard to have palm garden that hasn't had a seed from Inge Hoffmann. She passed away after a long illness with cancer in San Leandro.
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Jimmy Mintken
by garrin- 2 replies
- 4.5k views
I know a lot of us old-timers and especially palm afficionados in Northern California will remember our colorful and good natured friend Jim Mintken who moved away to Costa Rica nearly twenty years ago. Word came to me recently that Jim passed away in Costa Rica in December, and most of his old friends did not know until recently. He had contacted me last fall about getting together during the C.R. Biennial, and then I could no longer reach him. I have spread the word of his passing by phone to a few of the old gang in CA. I am sure there a lot of us who can share some fun and zany memories of Jim and his parties in his beautiful garden in the Russian River area of no…
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Ray Baker
by Morabeza- 3 replies
- 4.5k views
Yesterday Ray Baker died after a tough battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Lyon Arboretum would not be what it is today without his decades of intense dedication to its collections. He was passionate about palms. His illness forced him to retire from the arboretum in September. He had been fighting a very tough battle against the illness, especially in the past year, but we all hoped he would get to live longer. The legacy that Ray left is immense. He poured the last 38 years of his life into the Arboretum. His passing is a huge loss for Lyon and the botanical community in Hawai'i and around the world. In September he created a foundation to support the…
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Herbert Weber
by PalmGuyWC- 4 replies
- 4.4k views
I just received news that long time Palm Society member Herbert Webber passed away after an extended illness. No details yet. Herb lived in N. Calif. for many years, but moved to Mexico several years ago. Dick
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RIP WAL
by Daryl- 2 followers
- 38 replies
- 4.3k views
Hi Everyone, it is a very sad day for the Aussie Ratpackers and all who loved him, but Wal Donovan passed away early this morning, April the 25th, a national day of remembrance in Australia (ANZAC Day). Wal will be sadly missed by his children and their families and all of us in the palm community. Also those members of PACSOA, BPACS and the IPS who have all had good times with Wal. Wal was our source of quirky jokes and also a great mate who looked after all around him, a generous and caring man whose friendship was greatly valued by all of us. It is truly a sad day and we will all miss him and his antics greatly. Wal was also an IPS director which shows hi…
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RIP GARY HAMMER, Founder, Worldwide Exotics
by DoomsDave- 3 replies
- 4.2k views
Today the Los Angeles Times announced the passing of Gary Hammer, 57, who was, among much else, the founder of the esteemed plant nursery, Worldwide Exotics in Lakeview Terrace, California, in the San Fernando Valley. Mr. Hammer was a very widely-traveled plant explorer, who made many trips to Mexico, Australia and South Africa and found many species of drought-tolerant plants that we enjoy today. On August 7, 2011, Mr. Hammer was struck and killed by a car as he crossed a dark street in Tempe, Arizona. He was born in Glendale, California, obtained an Ornamental Horticulture degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1976, and, after a brief career in banking (!) em…
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