I just received this notice from the University of Florida:
It is with great sadness to report that Dr. Thomas Sheehan passed away Monday night at his home in Gainesville at the age of 92. Earlier in the day, Tom attended a local orchid society meeting, where he introduced Mike Kane, who then gave a presentation. He spent the evening doing what he loved to do, being in the company of orchid enthusiasts and their orchids. Tom and his wife Marion Ruff Sheehan were part of a group of founding members of the Gainesville Orchid Society back in the early 1960s. Tom was a world renowned and respected orchidologist, known for his expertise on anything orchid and a founding member of the Department of Ornamental Horticulture in 1956.
Locally, Tom was known for his goodness, and his passing leaves a void of goodness in all who had the privilege of knowing him. Tom was a Professor Emeritus and former Chairman of the Department of Environmental Horticulture at the University of Florida. During his career in the Ornamental Horticulture Department, later to become Environmental Horticulture, he taught floriculture and orchidology courses, served on countless graduate committees, and mentored scores of graduate students. He retired in 1991, but remained connected with the department and his chosen field. Tom continued to travel internationally to attend orchid conferences until just recently. He spoke to orchid societies around the world, including Australia, Bermuda, Canada, East Africa, Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States.
The American Orchid Society gave Tom its most prestigious award, the Gold Medal of Achievement in 1995, and named him Honorary Vice President of the Society. He published some 350 articles on plants and wrote several books about orchids. He was co-author with his beloved wife, Marion of the series “Orchid Genera Illustrated” in the American Orchid Society's monthly magazine, the American Orchid Society Bulletin, later renamed Orchids. The series ran for 186 months (15 ½ years). Tom also co-authored: Florida Landscape Plants: Native and Exotic with John Watkins and Bob Black and Orchids to Know and Grow with Bob Black.
but I did want to mount two on a piece of cork, so it was 'on purpose'. Then I bought a second Bl. Star Ruby 'Xanadu' when I saw a nice one on sale at Rafael's while my first one at home was blooming.
