Ray Mc Cullough
The Orchid World suffered an immense loss with the death of Ray on June 24th.
Ray was not only an orchid Genius with an encyclopedic knowledge, but he was
also orchid Generous. Over the years he gave away thousands of divisions of his
plants to dozens of orchidists. He never tired of answering questions or
demonstrating the ins and outs of orchid care to others. He and his wife, Helen,
maintained one of the largest personal collections in the U.S.
Ray could count kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, among the
literally thousands of orchid friends and acquaintances around the world. He was
one of the most traveled of present day orchidists. He visited Mexico, Central
and South America over 2 dozen times. He traveled to Africa, Europe, Asia, South
East Asia, Indonesia, and the South Pacific.
His meticulous note keeping was legendary. He took careful note of the
temperature, time, elevation, and location of the plants that he collected. He
has numerous field note books referencing the plants in his collection by
number.
Ray's contributions to orchid societies are numerous. He was a founding member
of the Michigan Orchid Society in 1951, its 3rd president in 1956-1957, a board
member for 45 years, Orchidist of the year in 1977 and chair of A. O. S. judging
at the annual Palm Sunday show for decades. In addition, he worked on the
development of our by-laws and constitution and many special projects over the
years. He was a long time member of the Mid-America Orchid Congress. He served
as its president and worked on numerous committees. He faithfully attended its
meetings wherever they were held throughout the Mid West and South.
He was a life member of the American Orchid Society. He served as vice president
and then president from 1977-1978. He presided over the 9th World Orchid
Conference in Bangkok, Thailand in 1978. He also lectured on endangered species
at that conference. He was the initial chair of the A. O. S. conservation
committee. He served as chair or member on most of the A. O. S. committees over
the decades.
A. O. S. judging was another facet of his work. He was an Accredited Judge. He
served as judging chair at scores of orchid shows throughout the Americas. For
many years he traveled monthly to St. Louis for the judging sessions. In 1972 he
was instrumental in establishing the Ann Arbor judging center. He chaired the
Cincinnati Ohio center in its first 2 years (1993-1994). During their 61+
years of marriage Ray and Helen raised 5 wonderful children: James, Eleanor,
Bonnie, Margaret and Eddie. At Ford Motor Company he worked his way up from
sweeping floors to management. Ray achieved success in many areas. But if
success is measured by the number of friends that you leave behind, then Ray was
a true giant. We will miss you deeply Ray. Your memory will live on in orchid
annals and in our hearts.
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