MEMORIALS
Thoughts and memories of fellow members
125 topics in this forum
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Jimmy Mintken
by garrin- 2 replies
- 4.7k 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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John Bishock has passed away 1 2
by SubTropicRay- 1 follower
- 52 replies
- 26k views
Many of us lost a good friend on Wednesday night with the passing of John Bishock. John would post on this site as John from Old Miakka. He was diagnosed with liver cancer less than 6 months ago and had been doing fairly well despite the rigors of chemotherapy. I had the pleasure of seeing him in December for a Christmas cookout where he was in remarkably good spirits and as enthusiastic about palms as ever. He and Faith had attended all of the Biennials with the exception of the most recent trip to DR. I was fortunate enough to have John and Faith attend my recent wedding. John will be sorely missed, not only as a fountain of palm knowledge, but as a dear friend. …
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John DeMott
by EllisB- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 3.4k views
It is with great sadness and disbelieve that John DeMott has left us to join the great plant heaven. He was instrumental in the South Florida nursery industry as well as the Palm Society. I had the pleasure to work with him through the good and bad times. He inspired many. Rest in Peace John, You will be missed. Ellis
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John Ellement
by Tyrone- 0 replies
- 1.6k views
Last night John Ellement, a long time member of the Western Australian plant and palm scene passed away after losing his fight with cancer. John was an unassuming, quietly spoken, hard working man who I had the privilege of knowing for a while. He started "Palms Galore", a well known palm nursery in WA and had been a member of the WA Palm and Cycad Society for a very long time. After he sold Palms Galore he started Wattleup Wholesale Nursery which continued to grow palms and cycads and was situated on a lake. He planted many palms, cycads and even a giant Pandanus on this lake and it later became known as Palm Lake. John was often seen rescuing older palms and cyc…
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John Fairey of Yuccado Nursery
by Meangreen94z- 1 reply
- 2.4k views
Hello, I received an email that John Fairey of the former Yuccado Nursery and Peckerwood Gardens(now John Fairey Garden), passed away on March 17, 2020. I don’t believe he was a member of the International Palm Society, but some of Yuccado Nursery’s contributions include bringing Sabal Tamaulipas, Brahea Moorei, and I believe the extremely blue variation of Sabal Uresana to U.S. cultivation. Among many other species of plants from Mexico and elsewhere. http://jfgarden.org/about/our-history/
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John Price
by Daryl- 1 reply
- 1.7k views
Sad to hear news of John's passing today. John, past IPS and PACSOA member and director, and husband of past IPS director Jeanne Price, had been ill for several years. He did a lot for the palm world, and was the long time editor of PACSOA's 'Palms and Cycads' magazine. My sincere condolences to Jeanne and family on this sad occasion.
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Karel Havlicek
by bgl- 13 replies
- 10.9k views
Karel Havlicek died very recently of a heart attack at his home in Hilo. Finding out about his death left me with a great sense of loss and sadness. Karel was definitely one of the greatest plant lovers I have ever known. Karel’s son, Pavel, is currently here on the Big Island and informed me that there will be a “Memorial gathering to celebrate Karel’s life”. It will take place at 12 noon on Saturday April 26th at Karel’s home in Waiakea-uka in Hilo and it will be very informal. If you plan on attending but don’t have the address, send me a PM. (The address is however listed in the HIPS roster). I first met Karel in January 2001. This was at the Annual PSSC Banquet in…
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Ken Adcock has passed away
by Tyrone- 2 replies
- 2k views
On Sat 12th of October 2013, Ken Adcock, one of the founding members of the Palm and Cycad Society of Western Australia passed away. Ken worked for a long time in the WA Agricultural department and his love of palms was shared by his close friend and work colleague Peter Skinner. Together they decided to start PACSOWA back in 80's. I always found Ken a very helpful and knowledgable individual who was very supportive of those interested in gardens, but especially palms and cycads. His passing comes as a huge shock and he will be greatly missed. The WA tropical plant growing scene will be much poorer due to his absence. Goodbye Ken.
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Ken Hill
by Cycadcenter- 6 replies
- 4.8k 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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Koichi Inoue
by eastern.nurseries- 0 replies
- 3.2k views
Koichi Inoue passed away on the fourteenth of March 2009. He will be remembered as the man that brought variegated Rhapis palms to the west. Leland Hollenberg was inspired by Koichi to produce ''The Miniature Palms of Japan'' and all of the pictures and cultural details came from him. He produced many plants during his lifetime the most famous being ''Eizannishiki''.
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Larry Schokman, former director at The Kampong
by fastfeat- 2 replies
- 2k views
Former director of the Kampong, avid plantsman, and all around good guy Larry Schokman has passed away following a recent heart attack. He was 82 years young. I, for one, will miss his enthusiasm and positive spirit. RIP, friend. http://ediblesouthflorida.ediblecommunities.com/food-thought/memoriam-larry-schokman
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Leo Gamble - The Palm Place
by Daryl- 2 replies
- 2.2k views
Sad news today, one of the most popular of Southeast Queensland's palm nurserymen, and palm lover, Leo Gamble, has passed away. Our thoughts are with his family in this sad time. Leo and his wife Jeanne had one of the premier palm nurseries in Australia, selling and distributing many choice Madagascan and New Caledonian palms, along with many other species from around the world. Their display garden and nursery near Wappa Falls, was outstanding and contained many stunning specimens. Many photos of their garden have appeared on Palmtalk, and the garden will live on in our thoughts for many decades. I don't know what the future holds for Jeanne and the garden, but I know it…
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Leo Gamble - The Palm Place
by Daryl- 3 replies
- 1.5k views
Sad news today, one of the most popular of Southeast Queensland's palm nurserymen, and palm lover, Leo Gamble, has passed away. Our thoughts are with his family in this sad time. Leo and his wife Jeanne had one of the premier palm nurseries in Australia, selling and distributing many choice Madagascan and New Caledonian palms, along with many other species from around the world. Their display garden and nursery near Wappa Falls, was outstanding and contained many stunning specimens. Many photos of their garden have appeared on Palmtalk, and the garden will live on in our thoughts for many decades. I don't know what the future holds for Jeanne and the garden, but I know it…
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Lise Rasmussen-Wright
by Phil- 8 replies
- 9.3k views
It is with great sadness that I announce the loss of a sincere friend of palms and the Palm Society. This past Friday, May 16th, Lise passed away at her home in San Diego. Her family was at her side. For years she had been fighting a chronic illness. Many of you know Lise from previous IPS Biennials or local meetings of the PSSC. She and her husband, Jim Wright, have offered their garden for tour on many occasions. Jim grew the palms but Lise added the aesthetics, design and charm to the garden. Always hospitable and gracious to plant enthusiasts, Lise had a multitude of friends who will forever miss her. Our deepest sympathy goes out to Jim and his family. Phi…
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Lois Rossten
by JEFF from Trabuco Canyon CA- 10 replies
- 4.2k views
I was very sad to hear this! Lois’s Memorial Service will be at Faith Lutheran Church located at 8200 Ellis Ave, Huntington Beach, Ca. 92646 at 1:00 PM. on Saturday 7/16/2011.
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Loran Whitelock
by yachtingone- 10 replies
- 4k views
A legend in the cycad world has passed on this morning. I met up with Loran a few times. He's a super nice guy! I will never forget our meeting at his garden!!! His book "The Cycads" is world famous and is a collectors item. Randy
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Lou Thomas
by EllisB- 0 replies
- 1.8k views
It saddens me to report that Lou Thomas. Who provided palm seeds from his ranch in Belize. Has passed away over the weekend. Teakettle will still be operating. Lou you will truly be missed. I'm glad I got to see you a couple months ago. Rest in Peace.
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Lucinda McCartney
by Cindy Adair- 2 followers
- 13 replies
- 2.8k views
I am sorry to tell everyone that Lucinda McCartney, mother of IPS Director Robert Blenker, passed away recently, unexpectedly, following surgery. She was an amazing person and many of you have met her in Florida or at the many IPS Biennials she attended. Besides her keen interest in palms, she recently started bee keeping, was a journalist, pilot and realtor who loved to fish. I can also attest to her cooking skills and overall excellent hospitality as I enjoyed my several visits to her lovely guest suite. I will never forget the first Florida trip we took in 2014, beginning near Sarasota and visiting many private and public gardens. Here are just a …
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- 1 follower
- 40 replies
- 9.4k views
Palm Society, It saddens me to announce the passing of another palm legend, Mardi Darian of Vista, California. Many have known Mardi for decades. In fact, we just had a tour of his garden by the PSSC in early July of this year. Unfortunately, on this past Tuesday, 25 August, Mardi died. He was 82 years old. I confirmed this with his wife, Cherie, a few minutes ago. He passed away in peace with no pain. Mardi was best known for his knowledge of the palms of Madagascar. He made a total of eleven trips to that island over several decades to study its palms. He was influential in describing species that were later formally named by palm taxonomists. In fact, one very exotic…
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Mark Peters - Forum Member
by John in Andalucia- 9 replies
- 3k views
It's always difficult to know what to do in these situations. A forum member passes away, yet he is apparently not missed. Mark Peters was always a very engaging, warm and positive person in his posts. I knew him away from the forum, through email, as customer of mine. He had no fear of trying to grow exotics all the way up in Monifieth, Scotland. I sold him a Joey palm which he was thrilled to own, and later a small Aiphanes seedling. Mark gave us forewarning of his illness on PalmTalk last September, but continued to post his usual, upbeat comments and compliments on the forum until his last. That was on October 20th 2011 in the aptly-titled, "Nice morning and general p…
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Matt Encinosa
by Licuala- 6 replies
- 3.9k views
I am sorry to report that a long time palm society member, Matt Encinosa, passed away yesterday. He lived in Jacksonville and was a member of the First Coast Palm Society where he was instrumental in experimenting with various palm species growing there. In so doing, he found a number that did quite well in that cooler climate and helped expand the palette of species usable there. Matt was a commercial artist and some may have a copy of the panting he did of Pseudophoenix ekmanii he did a number of years ago. A celebration of his life will be heard September 1st at the Mandarin United Methodist Church in Jacksonville. Time will be announced soon. Matt will be mi…
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Memorial for Ralph Velez
by DoomsDave- 6 replies
- 3.5k views
Everyone: I've just been advised that a memorial service will be held at Sherman Gardens, Corona del Mar, California (Orange County) on Monday, June 18, 2018, at 7:00 p.m.; guests may arrive at 6:00 p.m. There will be a memorial concert by Ralph's son, Steve Velez. Click on the link below for directions, etc., as to Sherman Gardens. Ralph would have loved this, and so, I think, will you. http://www.slgardens.org/visit
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Memorial project for Bob Riffle
by Jana- 10 replies
- 6.6k views
Hi everyone, It's so nice to come back here after a long absence and still see familiar names. I'm very pleased to have a project to announce that I hope Bob Riffle's friends will want to support. As many of you know, Bob lived in Houston for many years and I remember him speaking fondly of the Mercer Arboretum in Humble on many occasions. Since Bob's passing, I have become friends with Linda Gay, who is the director of Mercer Arboretum and also a good friend of Bob's. Now that I have finally visited the Mercer myself, I fully understand why Bob was so enthusiastic about this wonderful garden. It is truly magnificant. Over several months we have organized …
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Memorial Service for Mike Burnett
by Scott McDonald- 0 replies
- 2.9k views
Saturday, January 8th, we will have an informal memorial for Mike at his home, 5701 Carew, Houston 77074 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Please be there to share memories, photos, stories or just love for Mike. Come and go any time you please, but there will be a short 'service' around 2:00 pm by Rev. Pamela Taylor. Reply for any questions and I will be glad to answer all. Email me Thanks Steve Burnett
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Mercury Psillakis germinator extraordinaire.
by palmtreesforpleasure- 3 followers
- 28 replies
- 2.1k views
It is with great sadness and heavy heart to inform palm talkers that Merc passed away today from a shark attack whist surfing at Dee Why beach. He loved his surfing and his palms. He was a generous, humorous person with a kind heart, and we all in shock at his passing He will very sadly missed. All our thoughts are with his family regards Colin
