In Memoriam: Edwin K. "Ed" Parker

Edwin K. "Ed" Parker, 79, a lifelong resident of Astoria, Oregon, died Oct. 10, 2000. Ed was born Oct. 28, 1921. He served four years in the U.S. Navy and was a warehouseman for Point Adams Packing Co. He lived for many years on the homestead of his great-grandparents on Cathlamet Bay.

Ed served as North American Registrar of Plant Names for the American Rhododendron Society from 1974 to 1986. He received the ARS Gold Medal in 1981, when he was recognized for his "persistent, imaginative and patient approach to the thankless and frustrating task, the registration of American rhododendron hybrids" and for his "high standards, professional approach and technical completeness."