In Memoriam: Dr. William L. Rhein

Dr. William L. Rhein passed away on Oct. 3, 1999. He was a founding member of the Susquehanna Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, which honored him with their Bronze Medal, and an associate of the Valley Forge Chapter since 1970. His primary interest was in producing a yellow flowering rhododendron whose hardiness would allow it to survive Pennsylvania winters. Over a twenty-five year period following his retirement from dentistry, Dr. Rhein successfully hybridized a number of these yellow plants, as well as others with salmon, purple, and light blue trusses. He is included in Homer Salley's new list of hybridizers. Dr. Rhein also received numerous awards for his nature photography, and his photographs of birds and wildflowers appear in a variety of publications. His lifelong devotion to the natural world, captured mostly in his photography, led him to many remote areas studying species as diverse as the imperial ivory-billed woodpecker, the Pennsylvania raven, and the wildflowers of the Keystone State.