Remembrances

The iris world lost a valued friend and leader on Monday, June 10, 1991 when Oren E. Campbell of North little Rock, Arkansas died. Oren and his wife, Sue, were charter members of the Central Arkansas Iris Society, and he had served as both CAIS President and Regional Vice President of the American Iris Society, and was an AlS Master Judge (retired).
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Mrs. Barbara Deremiah of 4122 E. San Amiguel, Phoenix, AZ, died on June 2, 1981, after a long illness.  Barbara was considered the leader of the Phoenix area for promotion of Louisiana Irises and grew guest plants from many of the hybridizers.  Her garde, with the help of her family and friends, was on tour this spring and will be on tour again in 1982.  Her gardening friends want hybridizers to be assured there were excellent records kept on the guest irises and the garden will continue to be maintained by her family and iris friends.
Despite her health, Barbara came to Lafayette for the Society's annual meeting in 1980 and 1981.  Her account of a swamp trip in 1980 was published in the September 1980 Newsletter.
Barbara is survived by her husband and three teenage children.
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Each year we lose another of our longtime members until there are few of these members left. We regret the death on July 1, 1989 of one of our oldest and most colorful members, Calvin Blue. Calvin and his wife Inez joined the Society in 1945, soon after it was organized. They with their young daughter Susie came to all the Society functions and were always on hand to greet out-of-towners at the Friday night supper of the annual meeting.
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

We were all saddened by the death of Rudolph "Rudi" Fuchs on June 8. Although primarily a grower of bearded irises, Rudi had become interested in Louisianas and spurias and grew most of the popular varieties. He had not missed an American Iris Society Convention since the 1974 one in Roanoke, VA and, despite his heart condition, he attended the May 1985 Convention in Indianapolis. 
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

We regret the loss of one of our Charter Members, Mrs. Chester C. (Hattie) Clark of Shreveport, LA.
 
Hattie died in March 1985.  Her beautiful garden was on tour for the 1951 AIS convention in Shreveport, LA.  Although she was in her 90's, she still worked in her garden and grew many Louisiana irises as well as daylilies, roses, hostas and beautiful green house plants.
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Jean Collins of New Zealand, who has belonged to our Society off and on for many years.  She ran a nursery specializing in beardless irises, including the Louisiana irises.
She had served as Secretary-Treasurer of the New Zealand Iris Society from 1972 to 1982.
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Dr. George Arceneaux, originally from Lafayette and Homa, LA, but living in Mississippi for the past years has passed away.
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Ira S Nelson, founder and first secretary of the Society for Louisiana IrisesThe most important influence on any college or university campus is an effective and dedicated teacher, a man who devotes himself wholeheartedly to the study of his specialty and just as wholeheartedly to sharing his knowledge with others. Such a man was Ira S. Nelson, Professor of Horticulture at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. I have always felt that his employment, which was my first official act as newly-elected President of the University, augured well for my administration in that office. Ike, as he came to be known affectionately to all of us, was the type of teacher whom every university president hopes to appoint, but rarely finds. He was a gentleman, not in the sense in which that word is often used to designate merely the social position of one's parents, but in its truer sense: an innately honorable, thoughtful and dedicated man. 
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Clara Goula of Lafayette, LAMrs. Clara Goula of Lafayette was well-known as the namesake of one of the most famous Louisiana iris cultivars every produced, hybridized by her neighbor, the late Charles Amy.
 
Although unable to participate in recent years, Mrs. Goula had been active in Society affairs and had engaged in some hybridizing efforts of her own. She lived with her son, hybridizer Richard Goula, at Gatewood Gardens in Lafayette. 
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

James Geddes Douglas, 90, died in Nashville, Tennessee on April 30, 1993. He opened one of the earliest garden centers in 1954, selling plants and advising customers on selections and growing conditions. His association with the Society for Louisiana Irises goes back to the 1940's when he served on the AIS Board of Directors and was Regional Vice President in Tennessee, later becoming AIS Bulletin Editor. He served in many offices of the American Iris Society and the Southern Nurserymen's Association.
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Charles W. Arny JrCharles W. Amy, Jr. developed an interest in Louisiana irises when he moved to Lafayette in 1947 to accept a teaching post in economics at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. As his interest blossomed, he collected irises from the wild and began a hybridizing program which also included the newest and best hybrids then available. 
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances

Leon C. Wolford, 75, of Whitewright, Texas, a life member of the Society for Louisiana Irises, died on Friday, Aug. 13, 1993. 
Until recent years, he regularly attended the SLI Spring Meeting and Show, and served a term on the SLI board of directors. 
He was president of the American Iris Society from 1978-1980, and was awarded the prestigious AIS Distinguished Service Medal. He was a retired postal carrier and member of First Christian Church in Bonham. He is survived by his wife, Edith, two sisters and a nephew. 
 
A memorial service was held in Whitewright on Aug. 17. The family suggests memorial contributions to the AIS Foundation, 122 S. 39th St. #604, Omaha, NE 68131.
 
Editor's Notes:  This article first appeared in the SLI Newsletter in the September 1993 edition.
Parent Category: People
Category: Remembrances