Hello, everyone. This is one of the grandsons of Dr. Wilford B. Neptune, the owner of this account, who passed away on April 3rd, 2010. It was his wish that an obituary be posted on this forum, as he loved communicating with you all about your shared love of orchids. On behalf of my entire family, I'd like to thank you all for being part of my grandfather's life.

If you'd like to leave a note for Wilford's family, you can find his obituary page here: http://www.eatonfuneralhomes.com/Obituaries.html

Kindest Regards,

Aaron Howland

OBITUARY:

Dr. Wilford B. Neptune, formerly of West Newton, MA, died on April 3, 2010, while living in Edelweiss Village, the assisted living section of Deutsches Altenheim (German House) in West Roxbury, MA. He was a retired physician who, as a member of the Overholt Thoracic Clinic, practiced thoracic and cardiovascular surgery from 1954 to 1995 at the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Neptune grew orchids from 1972 to 2007. Although his beloved wife, Ruby, had no specific interest in the plants, she was a staunch supporter of his hobby and was usually with him for orchid-related events. In addition to lecturing and publishing about their culture, Dr. Neptune frequently exhibited plants in orchid shows and garden shows throughout the Northeast. He received his first official award in 1982, when he received an AD/AOS. As an amateur hobbyist, he subsequently received 127 awards, including a Gold Medal for culture from the Royal Horticultural Society, nine AOS Show Trophies, and 117 awards from the AOS for individual plants. Forty of these awards were for culture, of which seven had scores of ninety to ninety-six points, making them eligible for the CCE/AOS Award.

Although Dr. Neptune grew 155 different genera, his favorite of all orchids was Dendrobium kingianum, a species native to Australia. He had forty-two named clones of this species, and he was especially proud of his results from hybridizing the species. He crossed two of his awarded plants, 'Inferno' AM/AOS x 'Jazzy' AM/AOS, to produce 'Trident's Baby.' This clone received an FCC/AOS, which was the first such award for this species in any judging system in the world.

The following year, he received an FCC/AOS for another Dendrobium kingianum, 'Conference 82.' This plant had been a gift, as a division of the original plant owned by Ted Gregory of Merrellen Orchids in Australia. Mr. Gregory had previously received a Gold Medal, for Best in Show in all of Australia, for Dendrobium kingianum. Dr. Neptune had a variety of orchids from Australia, and most were from the Merrellen nursery, where Mr. Gregory had been hybridizing native species for forty-five years, with about ninety percent of his effort directed toward improving Dendrobium kingianum.

Between 2001 and 2008, Dr. Neptune donated his entire orchid collection to Smith College, in Northampton, MA, where it will be used in teaching botany, landscape architecture, and art. It will also be part of the standing collection for viewing by the public, which currently receives 60,000 visits per year.

Dr. Neptune was an honorary member of the Massachusetts Orchid Society (MOS). He received a lifetime achievement award, in 2000, from the MOS, and a similar award the following year from the Cape and Islands Orchid Society (CAIOS).

Dr. Neptune was predeceased by an infant grandson, Jason Howland. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ruby, of sixty-three years, whom he married in 1946; their children, Lenore N. Howland of Reading, MA, and Wilford Harold Neptune and his wife, Jane Morris, of Acton, MA; their five grandchildren, Seth Howland, Aaron Howland, Jocelyn Neptune, Kate Neptune, and Margaret Neptune, and a sister-in-law, Ferne Weissman, of Needham, MA.

Funeral arrangements were by Eaton & Mackay in Newton, MA. Services were private, with burial in Newton Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Thoracic Foundation, in care of either Edward Martin or Bradley Cook, at The Landmark, 160 Federal Street, 20th Floor, Boston, MA 02110.

Here is a link that might be useful: Obituary Page