In Memoriam: Dr. William McHolick
Rich Aaring

Dr. William McHolick, a member of the Eugene Chapter, passed away in September 2002. He was born in 1924 in Portland, Oregon, and married his wife, Joyce, in 1948. She died a few months before him. He attended Oregon State College before going into the Army in 1943. After the war he returned to college and then the University of Oregon Medical School, eventually becoming an orthopedic surgeon. He moved to Eugene to practice and retired in 1990. He was a member of the Oregon Track Club. Other interests included the UO President's Association, the Oregon Shakespeare Theater, the Bach Festival and the Eugene Symphony. He was also a member of the Rhododendron Species Foundation.

Rhododendron gardening was his passion for forty years. He was mostly a species collector and grower but had many fine hybrids in his garden, most notably a very fine Rhododendron 'Crest' over 25 years old. Other plants included some examples of the early area hybridizers. His garden was a very well maintained and tastefully arranged collection of over 800 varieties including the largest big leaves in the Eugene area. "I collect for foliage. I was bloom blind, but then I grew out of it," he said. His garden was a highlight on tour during the 2001 Annual ARS Convention in Eugene.