Richard Kent Schoellhorn ( Rick ) passed by at age 66 after a two - year struggle with lung cancer . He as born Oct. 17 , 1957 , in Whittier , California . His rural southerly California childhood , much of it expend hazard among the exuberant avocado and citrus groves , formed a founding for his womb-to-tomb love of plant . Family traditional knowledge sport the level of Rick , as a new teen , caught steal plants by hiding them in his bellbottom trouser . Instead of being arrested , he was employ to help in the garden center .
Rick attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo ( 1975 ) but exit to join his sister Janine in Alaska , an experience that broadened his linear perspective on life and personal identity operator . He moved to Denver , Colorado ( 1979 ) to be with his sidekick Carlos , bringing with him a newfound love of guitar and songwriting . He sustain a potpourri of nursery and landscape gardening job , admit owning his own internal plantscaping company . It was during his time in Denver that Rick met his wife Linda and decide to continue his education to fulfill a lifelong desire to learn and provide for a future family .
Rick completed a B.S. in horticulture at Colorado State University in 1989 , then , after the nascence of his son Eran , moved to Gainesville , Florida , to engage graduate report . In 1995 , he completed a PhD in horticulture at UF , first at the Research & Education Center in Milton , then the main campus in Gainesville in 2001 . He was a well - know loudspeaker , garden consultant , TV host and community volunteer .
In 2005 , he left academia to join Proven Winners as the director of new products . His body of work with Proven Winners was incredibly rewarding , and afforded Rick the chance to do what he truly sleep together – share his sexual love of horticulture with professional colleagues , plant breeders and cultivator across the earth .
Proven Winners has rename its raiser scholarship in Rick ’s honor as The Rick Schoellhorn – Proven Winners ® Grower Excellence Scholarship . “ It ’s perfect because it honors Rick both as a plantsman and as an pedagog , ” pronounce Kevin Hurd , Proven Winners music director of fresh ware . “ He has a passion for maturate and he ’s worked in all aspects of the industry . So we feel it was of import to memorialise him and commend his legacy as that pedagog and strong horticulturalist . ”
spot - retirement , he focused on cultivating begonias . He and Linda travel extensively , meeting and interviewing begonia breeders while Rick worked on a holograph for a book on the history of begonia cultivation . He was active in the American Begonia Society .
Rick ’s heat and curiosity take not only his professional life , but his vibrant home and societal life . The garden he created at his family abode were a pop destination for garden tours and the mise en scene for the many party and societal gatherings he and Linda host .
Rick was a fertile songwriter , guitarist and pianist . euphony captivated him , and his own songs , peculiarly those he published in his record album , “ Under A Midnight Sky , ” are a source of inspiration
for all his family . Love of music was an enduring theme of Rick ’s family life , and a bond he shared with his Word Eran .
Rick is go by his wife of 39 years , Linda , son Eran , comrade Carlos , baby Janine , granddaughter Lydia and Cora , and a community of elongated family , friends and colleagues .
