JARS v9n1 - In Memoriam: Dr. Joseph Brueckner

In Memoriam: Dr. Joseph Brueckner
Richard Birkett
Oakville, Ontario, Canada

The Rhododendron Society of Canada (District 12 of ARS) is saddened by the loss in October 1994 of Dr. Joseph Brueckner, a long time member. Joe Brueckner was born in Hungary, and lived in Switzerland and New Zealand before coming to New Brunswick in 1957. All his life he was scientifically interested in horticulture, but he concentrated in hybridizing hardy rhododendrons in the Maritimes. In 1976 he moved to Mississauga, Ontario, with his large collection of rhododendrons, where he continued his hybridizing work. Some of his plants are now available through Briggs Nursery. In 1988 Joe was the first recipient of the Rhododendron Society of Canada's Hybridizer's Award.

Dr. Brueckner was an imaginative photographer with camera and video, and with his wife Martha he made many lovely films of his garden set to music. He donated and supervised the planting of many of his own plants amongst groves of trees in a park, now named "Rhododendron Park" on the Lakeshore Road in Mississauga. The park is a fitting memorial to our friend and superb plantsman Dr. Joseph Brueckner.