JUNE GROSE, d. JANUARY 24, 2005
(pictured here, LEFT, with Rosarian Odile Masquelier)

HERE in Southern California, along with all the excitement and hubbub surrounding the new year and the Great Rosarians Lecture, one sad event slipped passed with hardly a notice. Rosarian June Grose, a longtime friend to many of us - and a dedicated OGR aficionado, champion, and conservator, passed away quietly in hospital. June had fallen and broken her hip getting out of bed the previous week and suffered a heart attach and died late on Monday, January 24.

Like many rosegrowers in the greater Los Angeles area, I got to know June through rose shows and the Huntington Symposium on Old Garden Roses. June regularly set up educational displays at rose events across Southern California; particularly of roses cut from her own garden. She would install her table of Old Garden Roses in the main hall and then invite attendees to smell and share in her love of these historical roses. June was adept at answering the public's questions on how to grow these old beauties and where they could be found for sale. For many of us, June was directly responsible for instilling an appreciation and abiding love of these roses. I remember a number of afternoons spent touring June's garden and dinners discussing this, her favorite of all subjects. An imposing and tall woman, June maintained her garden, collected rose books and catalogs, and always had a warm smile and embrace for everyone; especially those who shared her love of our national flower.

June was an active member of a number of Los Angeles area rose societies, including Pacific, San Fernando, and Los Angeles Rose Societies. She was also an historian for the Pacific Southwest District of the American Rose Society. She was one of the founding members of the Southern California Heritage Roses when a few of us formed that informal group after the Fourth Huntington Rose Symposium in 1980. June continued to volunteer and support the Huntington Rose Garden and its activities over the years and received the Lester Harrell Award from the Huntington Symposium in 1990. She was presented the Harrell Award in recognition of her years of service to the furtherance of roses and almost single-minded dedication to Old Garden Roses. The award recognized her dedication to educating the gardening public to the charms, fragrance, and beauty of antique roses.

June not only supported the Huntington Rose Garden by volunteering, but she also was one of the individuals who helped establish the Old Rose Educational Endowment, founded in 2000 to provide financial support for The Great Rosarians of the World Annual Lecture Series. Her gift was combined with others and now provides seed money for the lecture series.

June loved garden-related travel. She participated in a number of rose tours to Europe, and only her declining health forced her to stop. Like many of us Americans, June was always somewhat challenged by non-English rose names. I remember an excited phone call I received from June some years back when she called to inform me that she had signed up for a garden tour that was being organizing to Europe. June described the tour which was to start in France and proceed on to Germany. This was at a time when few Americans were getting into what was then still the German Democratic Republic. June proclaimed on the phone that she was going to Germany and would get to visit "Sourcrouten!" While I knew she meant the great German rose collection at Sangerhausen, I just didn't have the heart to correct her.

June was one of those people who forever work the trenches; every region and rose society has at least one June Grose. They fill in where needed - often unasked - always willing to help out and take up the slack. June was in her element when she had a neophyte rose grower's attention at one of her table displays. She would start by explaining what made these roses so very special and why this potential rose grower should forsake the display of stark Hybrid Teas and take a walk on the wild side and plant a few of her favorite historic beauties. The neophyte would invariably leave June's table with new knowledge, and I can speak from experience that they usually went right out and ordered a batch of OGRs from one of the catalogs displayed at the table.

June Grose wasn't necessarily a globally or nationally known figure in the rose world, but she was truly a giant in California. Sadly for us, in the last few years, June had had to retreat a bit from public life due to age and illness. She spent her last days surrounded by her first love: her own garden. I am not currently aware of any burial or memorial plans. A number of her friends have discussed the possibility of holding a Memorial Gathering to honor June's life here in the Huntington Rose Garden later this spring. Nothing could be more fitting than remembering and honoring June's impact and life among the flowers she so loved. If you would like to attend, drop me a note, and I will be happy to notify you of the date and time when the plans are formalized.

June's genuine, warm smile and embrace will be sorely missed. However, her fierce dedication to enlightening us all to the charms of Old Garden Roses will remain as an inspiration for many years to come. For me, June has been a dear mentor and friend, and she will be missed.

 

Until next time, be well, my friends...

Clair