412 



HORTICULTURE 



October 26, 1918 



Obituary 



Ralph M. Ward. 



As hurriedly announced in our last 

 issue, Ralph M. Ward, founder and 

 owner of the house of Ralph M. Ward 

 & Co., New York, importers and ex- 

 porters and specializing in lily bulbs, 

 died in Roosevelt Hospital, New York, 

 at 10.30 a. m. on Thursday, October 

 17th, following a brief illness of pneu- 

 monia. He was born towards the end 

 of August, 1880, in Marshalltown, Iowa, 

 the son of Charles and the late Cora 

 A. Ward. His father was a railroad 

 telegraph operator at that time, and 

 like a number of other men of similar 

 profession in those days, rose from the 

 ranks to prominence and success in the 

 business world. The boyhood days of 

 Ralph M. Ward saw him a somewhat 

 sickly child, and after he had suffered 

 an attack of diphtheria while at school, 

 the family removed to Los Angeles, 

 Cal. In 1887, when his mother took 

 sick, the family returned to Iowa, and 

 there she died shortly after. Because 

 of this he was placed under the care 

 of his mother's parents at Davenport, 

 la., until 1898. He had gone to school 

 and studied law in the local offices, 

 but his ambition was too great for the 

 small city of the Middle West, and he 

 began to think of the big East. 



His first identification with the flor- 

 ist trade was with Hagemann & Meyer 

 in Philadelphia, and when this firm 

 decided to move to New York he came 

 with them. The partnership was dis- 

 solved in 1902 and at that time Mr. 

 Hagemann and Mr. Ward established 

 the firm of Wm. Hagemann & Co., 

 which was dissolved after one year and 

 in 1903 the house of Ralph M. Ward 

 & Co. was born. 



Since 1903 the business has grown 

 steadily, the development of the use 

 of cold storage lily bulbs playing a 

 large part in its expansion. Mr. Ward 

 was the pioneer in blazing the way for 

 the florists to become accustomed to 

 using cold storage bulbs the year 

 'round, and he was also first to import 

 the bulbs into a number of the larger 

 cities throughout the country, where 

 they were kept in cold storage await- 

 ing withdrawal at regular periods by 

 the customers of the house. 



Mr. Ward was known all over the 

 country through the unique advertise- 

 ments written personally by himself 

 for the trade papers. A great many 

 of them show the keen humor and 

 kindliness of the man, together with a 

 very real insight into human nature. 

 It was, in fact, at least partly through 

 the magnetic quality of these adver- 

 tisements that bis reputation was es- 



:il,.ivi- ilhi.str;itiiiii is I'luui a iilictoKrapli. tiiknii at 

 shows tlie late Ualpli M. Ward, with K. H 



tlio marliPt ill liaiivn, Korea 

 Wilson and Iiioauke Aral. 



anil 



tablished and made known wherever 

 there was a commercial florist. 



The requirements of business made 

 Mr. Ward a great traveler, and he had 

 been practically all over the world in 

 quest of new ideas and new business. A 

 branch office was established in Rotter- 

 dam, Holland, in 1916, but the increas- 

 ing difficulty of shipping on account of 

 the world war prevented the anticipated 

 growth there. Other offices were es- 

 tablished in Japan and China. His 

 trip to Korea, India and Japan last 

 year has been frequently referred to 

 in Horticulture and in the obsence 

 of a full portrait we herewith repro- 

 duce one view in which he appears. 



To the trade at large Mr. Ward was 

 known as a keen but just lousiness 

 man: to his many friends and family 

 as a man of the great ambitions, with 

 the ability to attain the pinnacle to 

 which he looked forward. His un- 

 timely death deprives the florist busi- 

 ness of a man of uncommon promise 

 and his friends of a dearly-loved asso- 

 ciate and wise counsellor. Cheery, 

 kindly and companionable at all times, 

 ready to encourage and assist, he was 

 a man much sought and appreciated 

 by business acquaintances and his go- 

 ing has left a gap that will be difficult 

 to fill. 



Besides a wife and a daughter he is 

 survived by his father and a brother. 

 The funeral services were held at his 

 late home in Bound Brook, on Sunday, 

 Oct. 20th. and were simple but impres- 

 sive. Floral tributes were many and 

 beautiful. The funeral was private, 

 the family, a few of his closest friends 

 and the office staff, most of whom had 

 been both employees and friends for 

 many years, being the only ones pres- 

 ent. Interment followed in the Bound 

 Brook cemetery. 



Thomas J. Gibson 

 Thomas J. Gibson died at his home 

 on Bliss Road, Newport, R. I., Sunday, 

 October 6, in his 68th year. He es- 

 tablished the Gibson Brothers florist 

 business on MallKjne road in 1872. It 

 continued under that name until 1912 

 when the partnership was dissolved: 

 the two brothers Joseph and John W. 

 continuing it at 9 Malbone road until 

 the death of the latter on Sept. 8, 1918, 

 leaving Joseph Gibson the sole partner 

 of the firm. From 1912 until the 

 present summer, he continued busi- 

 ness in his own name, at the store on 

 Washington Square, formerly occupied 

 by the old firm and was in the florist 

 business continuously for 46- years. 

 He was a member of the Representa- 

 tive Council of the city for almost 11 

 years. The Newport Daily News 

 printed the following: "Mr. Gibson 

 was ever ready to help others, and 

 his cheerful disposition made and kept 

 many friends throughout the city. He 

 was a man of sterling worth, and in 

 his business relations and personal 

 friendships showed those character- 

 istics which gave him the esteem of 

 his fellow citizens and made him uni- 

 versally respected." A widow, one 

 brother, Joseph Gibson, and three sis- 

 ters, Mrs. George Taylor, and the 

 Misses Caroline L. and Susan E. Gib- 

 son survive. 



Dominick Rusconi. 

 Dominick Rusconi, the veteran bulb 

 and seedsman of Cincinnati, Ohio, 

 passed away at his home in Coving- 

 ton, Ky., on Saturday a victim of a 

 stroke of apoplexy while at his work 

 at his store at 128 West Sixth street. 

 He was seventy-three years of age. 

 He estalilished his business in Cin- 



