The following biographies have been compiled to highlight some of the iris hybridizers who had their beginnings in Oklahoma or who moved to Oklahoma to contribute to Oklahoma’s rich culture of “iris lovers” who cared enough to create new hybrids for the rest of us to enjoy. Each person’s biography is sub-divided under the following four headings:
FAMILY HISTORY: Where s/he came from and other family info.
IRIS INSPIRATION: How s/he was inspired to grow irises and/or how s/he inspired others, including work done in iris societies. If the person had a connection to TAIS (Tulsa Area Iris Society), this is high-lighted in bold italicized print.
HYBRIDIZING: Some of the more notable iris cultivars that this person hybridized and introduced are listed. If the cultivars received awards, these are noted (although this information could be incomplete for newer introductions that could receive awards after this posting).
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN OK Hybridizer Section: If a cultivar, hybridized by this person, has been added to the Oklahoma Hybridizer Section of the TAIS Display Garden in Woodward Park, Tulsa, OK, it is listed with a brief description. This section is subject to change with additions or changes in the display garden.
ANN DEE (MURPHY) BARROW
FAMILY HISTORY: Ann Dee was born in Stillwater, Payne co., Oklahoma in June, 1936, the daughter of Andy and Zola Murphy who were school teachers with 5 children of whom Ann Dee was the eldest. The Murphy’s taught in several Oklahoma and Kansas schools before settling in Glencoe, Oklahoma. They also owned a drug store and Andy was a truck farmer in the summer months. Ann Dee attended Glencoe High School and married Joe Barrow, her high school boyfriend, in 1954. He had joined the U. S. Navy and made it a 20-year career, retiring back to their home town of Glencoe in 1972. They had 5 children, 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Her husband Joe died in 1993. All the children were grown and had left home, all three boys to join the U. S. Navy.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Ann Dee worked in the garden before she was five and loved it. Her parents operated a small greenhouse business for 20 years. They became interested in iris and joined several iris societies - North Central in Enid, Northern in Ponca City, Sooner State in Oklahoma City and Rolling Hill in Stillwater. They also attended many other iris groups and judging schools; Ann Dee’s favorites were the pollen daubers seminars held each year by Sooner State.
HYBRIDIZING: Ann Dee began hybridizing iris, starting with SDB’s. She has several hundred seedlings, but only one tall bearded, Lady Laree, a white and purple plicata with three branches and seven buds named for a sister-in-law, has been exceptional. After it won “Best Seedling” awards in several shows, Dean and Georgia Brand from the Tulsa Area Iris Society convinced her to register it, and it was introduced in 2000. It has been the Queen of 4 or 5 shows and received an HM in 2006. Ann Dee, a retired AIS Master Judge, has slowed down and only makes 5 or 6 crosses each year.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN OK Hybridizer Section:
TB LADY LAREE, by Ann Barrows, 2002, HM 2006 (Plicata: white with heavy purple on standards, and thin purple edging on falls, dark violet beard)
PAUL BLACK
FAMILY HISTORY: Paul was born in Guymon, Texas co., Oklahoma, the son of Harold and Leta Black. He graduated from high school there; then went to Oklahoma City to attend Central State University where he received a bachelors degree in psychology and sociology; then attended OU School of Health Sciences to work for a master’s degree in business.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Paul credits his grandmother, Ruth Black, for his gardening talents. He spent time with her in summers, working in her vegetable and flower gardens, and it was in her gardens that he was first introduced to iris, which his grandmother received from a friend who to her astonishment often paid $20-$25 for a single rhizome. Remembering his grandmother’s iris, when he bought his first home, he went looking for iris and discovered the local Oklahoma Iris Society rhizome sale where he purchased some rhizomes. Told that, if he kept the names, he could enter blooms in the Spring Iris Show, he did so, received the “Best Specimen Award,” and was hooked.
HYBRIDIZING: Encouraged by Oklahoma hybidizers Cleo Palmer and Perry Dyer, Paul began making crosses in 1979. That same year Paul went into business with Perry in his Contemporary Gardens, a partnership that lasted two years. He wanted it to be a full-time business, but Perry wasn’t able to accommodate that, so Paul quit his job and started his own iris business, Mid-American Gardens. His first catalog appeared in 1981 and contained his own introductions in 1982. Among his first introductions were a bright yellow IB, Harlow Gold, runner-up for the Sass Medal, and an SDB, which would become his specialty, Tiger Print, which won his first AIS Award of Merit. In 1988 Paul’s TB, Glitz ‘N’ Glitter, won his first Award of Merit in that class. Oklahoma Crude also was an AM winner in the TB class. Tragedy struck in 1993 when rot wiped out Paul’s entire garden. In 1994 Thomas Johnson moved iris from his garden in Canada to become a partner in the business. The fact that Mid-America also marketed daylilies, hostas and Japanese and Siberian irises saved the business. It was not until 1996 that bearded iris were again in the catalog which included Paul‘s introduction of Tom Johnson, a Wister Medal winner in 2003. In 1998 the garden was moved to Salem, Oregon where it became one of the preeminent iris hybridizing and marketing businesses in the nation. Paul is America’s most honored hybridizer, as follows, through 2022. He has won 8 Caparne-Welch Medals for Best MDB: Elf Esteem ‘21, Beetlejuice ‘19, Cute as a Button ‘17, Dollop of Cream ‘12; Chemistry ‘10, Dinky Circus ‘04, Cinnamon Apples ‘95 and Spot of Tea ‘95; has 12 times won the Cook-Douglas Award for Best SDB: Portland Pink ’21, My Cher ’18, Open Your Eyes ’16, Zooboomapoo ’15, Eye of the Tiger ‘14, Wish Upon a Star ‘13, Bluebeard’s Ghost ‘12, Fires of Fiji ‘11, Puddy Tat ‘09, Cat’s Eye ‘08, Pumpin’ Iron ‘96, and Chubby Cheeks ‘91,which in 2021brought him the rarely given AIS Board of Director’s Award; has 7 times won the Knowlton Medal for Best BB: My Cher of Happiness, ‘19, Ballerina Pink, ‘17, Lady of the Night ‘14, Bundle of Love ‘13, Crow’s Feet ‘12, Fleece As White ‘11, and Go for Bold ‘07; has 7 times received the Sass Medal for Best IB: Apple Crisp ‘22, Cat in the Hat ’18, Star in the Night ’16, Man’s Best Friend ’15, Dazzling ’14 and Nickel ‘12; and has 5 Mohr medals for Best Aril Bred: Heart of Hearts ‘21, Desert Snow ‘19, Brash and Bold ‘16, She Devil ‘03 and Prairie Thunder ‘98. Besides Tom Johnson in ‘03, these TB’s have also won Wister Medals: Money in Your Pocket ‘15, Beauty Becomes Her ‘17 and Bluebird of Happiness ‘21. He earned the Walther Cup for most honorable mentions 8 times; the Ben Hager cup 4 times; and the President’s Cup twice; the AIS Hybridizers Award in 2002; the Gold Medal in the Premio Firenze in Florence, Italy with Sighs and Whispers ‘92 and Dude Ranch ‘02; the Median Iris Society’s Bennett C. Jones Award for Outstanding Median Hybridizing in ‘09; and the British Iris Society’s Hybridizing Award. In 2011 Paul sold his interest in Mid-America to Thomas, but he continues to hybridize and introduce new irises of various types.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN OK Hybridizer Section:
AB PERRY DYER, by Paul Black, 2017, HM 2019, AM 2021, WMM 2023, (Near White/white with Plum spot, beard is brown to light grey)
PERRY DYER
FAMILY HISTORY: Perry was born in August, 1955, apparently in Blanchard, where he made his home. He had one sister, Kathleen. In high school, Perry was a straight-A student, a pianist and teacher of piano. He went on to earn a BA in music, with a major in piano performance, from Oklahoma University in 1977. He was a longtime pianist at the Disciples of Christ Christian Church in New Castle, Oklahoma. He made a career with the Federal Aviation Administration as a lead inventory management specialist, a high pressure job that caused him to stop issuing his iris catalogs about 2006. He retired in 2013 after 36 years of service, but continued active in the iris business and iris organizations until his death.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Perry’s interest in irises began in grade school with strong support from his mother, Kitty. He was the first winner in 1974 of the AIS Clarke Cosgrove Youth Achievement Award. At age 16 he was “considered somewhat of an authority on iris,” per an article in the Norman Transcript as he was already growing about 500 irises. Perry became well known to iris growers for his witty and observant “Contemporary Views” articles which appeared annually for many years until 2018 in the AIS Bulletin in which he reviewed and commented on the best of newer irises he had seen that year at convention and in gardens he had visited. He had a way with words that will be missed. As a member of the Sooner State Iris Society, he was instrumental in encouraging Paul Black to begin hybridizing.
Perry served as chairman of the “Median Spree in ‘93” in Oklahoma City, the second Median Iris mini-convention. He was a two-term president of the Median Iris Society (2003-2008) as well as the Society of Louisiana Irises (1994-1997). He participated extensively in the three national AIS conventions held in Oklahoma in 1988, 1999 and 2007 and judged the Premio Firenze iris competition in Florence, Italy in 1993 and 2000. In 2009 he received the AIS Distinguished Service Medal. Perry had a heart attack and was recovering from that when he succumbed to a second one on September 3, 2018.
HYBRIDIZING: Perry hybridized and introduced 44 irises of various types, receiving 21 Honorable Mentions and 9 Awards of Merit, including these which won top awards: Silent Strings (1979 IB) won the Sass Medal in 1988; Soft Spoken (1980 BB) the Knowlton Medal in 1988; Serenity Prayer (1989 SDB) the Cook-Douglas Medal in 1995; and Prince of Egypt (2007 AB Median) the Mohr Medal in 2015. He was a member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society in the 1970’s and in later years was often a knowledgeable and delightful judge of TAIS shows and others around the area.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
IB ON GOLDEN POND, by Perry Dyer, 1988, (golden yellow self, beard is bushy gold to orange)
ALVA JAMES HICKERSON and RILLA HICKERSON:
FAMILY HISTORY: Rilla (Cowan) Hickerson was born in November, 1914, the daughter of Dorothy and Ansel Cowan, on a farm outside of Snyder, OK. She began her education at Grandview, a small 1-room schoolhouse near Snyder. She later attended Cameron Junior College and Oklahoma A&M (now OSU). She and Alva were married September 2, 1935 and after graduation, moved to Tulsa, where Alva was employed with the Corps of Engineers and Southwest Power Administration. The couple had three sons, Terry, Walter and Steve, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. During the 1960’s, Rilla was involved with the Tulsa Anglers Club and spent many hours at Braden Park near her home teaching young people how to cast. She helped with and directed many tournaments held by the club and organized its annual fish fry fundraiser.
Both Alva and Rilla treasured their times fishing and camping on the Illinois River and, after retirement, they expanded their enjoyment by spending the winters in the Florida Keys fishing, collecting shells and meeting new friends.
IRIS INSPIRATION: The Hickersons were both avid iris growers and founding members of the Tulsa Area Iris Society in 1962, with Rilla serving as the chairperson of the club’s first show. In 1964 she won Best of Show for the tall bearded ‘Voodoo’ (Rudolph Kleinsorge, 1948).
Alva and Rilla were considered mentors of Paul Gossett, legendary member of TAIS and AIS, whom they helped start his iris gardening in 1980. They continued as active members of TAIS until their deaths, Alva in 1986 and Rilla on March 29, 2007. They had also been active members of the American Iris Society.
HYBRIDIZING: Alva gave the iris world a number of introductions, including 6 tall beardeds, 3 border beardeds and 4 standard dwarf beardeds, and Rilla had one introduction of her own. Alva especially liked plicatas and iris in the brown/red/orange/yellow color range. Scuppernong Rose (1975 BB, HM 1976) was such a plicata, with gold standards and white ground falls heavily stippled red with gold rims and beards. Among his tall bearded introductions are Amarillo Rojo (1981); Allison (1975); Omega Gold (1976 TB); and Sooner Peach (1982 TB). His border bearded Tawny Gold (1976) received an Award of Merit in 1979.
After Alva’s death, Rilla introduced in 1991 two of Alva’s iris originals: a wonderful brown plicata border bearded she named Alva in his honor and the tall bearded Pleasure Peach, popular in local gardens. Her own great success came with Raspberry Rilla, a Louisiana iris of the color of its name. It received an Award of Merit in 2008 and the DeBaillion Medal in 2011.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
BB ALVA, by Alva Hickerson, 1991, (Plicata: Gold-Brown & Cream/ purple stripe on falls, brown-purple beard)
JERRY PRESTON JAMES
FAMILY HISTORY: Jerry was born in October, 1936 in Canon City, Colorado, the son of William Franklin and Frankie Myrtle (Beall) James. With his itinerate family he grew up living in Enid and Nash, OK; Wellington, KS; Longview WA; New Plymouth and Emmett, ID; and Loveland, CO, where he graduated from high school and received a scholarship to Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. There he was a member of the student senate; student body vice-president; a member of Blue Key National Honor Society and “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities;” and received in 1958 his BA degree in Social Science. He attended George Washington University Law School in Washington, D. C. at night for 20 hours while working at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Finding law not what he wanted, he entered OSU and took a Masters in 1963 in secondary education. He then taught history at Enid H. S. for three years, during which time on June 7, 1963, he married Rose-Marie Roberts.
Jerry & Rose Marie have three sons, David, Brien and Jeffrey, 5 grandchildren and 9 great-grands. In 1964, he returned to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D. C. and in 1967 became legislative assistant to Rep. Page Belcher (R-OK). During this period he also acted in community theater: at Mount Vernon Players, winning best acting awards for roles in “The Lark,” “The Heiress” and “All My Sons;” playing the male lead in “The Fantasticks” at the Little Theater of Alexandria and the Red Barn in Greenwich, CN; and the lead in “The Desert Song” for the American Light Opera Company. When Rep. Belcher retired, James signed on as one of the founders of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, and served as its second president before leaving to become founding headmaster of Way of Faith Christian Academy in Fairfax co., Virginia, where he also taught junior high and high school classes.
With Jerry’s family in Oklahoma and Kansas and Rose Marie’s in California, the couple decided in 1977 to return to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thereafter, Jerry’s “eclectic career,” as he calls it, found him helping ORU raise funds for the graduate schools; forming a Christian school at the Cherokee Children’s Mission in Adair county; serving as development director for the newly created Metro Christian Academy; manager of the successful mayoral campaign of his ORU co-worker, Richard C. Crawford, for Mayor of Tulsa and serving as his chief of staff (1986-1987); then returning to their rural Cherokee county home as treasurer for several rural public schools until retiring in 1999. “No matter how this looks, I was only fired once - from a summer job at Wal Mart,” James says. Of all of his jobs, he treasures most his recent years as a counselor of men, and, with his wife, of couples, through his church.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Jerry credits his neighbor, Mabel Kearns, in Emmett, ID with starting him in raising and showing iris in 8th grade. Whenever he had a yard, he always grew iris, until in the years 2013-2017 he had over 450 varieties in a small commercial garden. As a member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society since 1998, he won many show awards at local shows, including three for “Best of Show.”
In retirement James has long been the tabulator of the Tall Bearded Iris Society’s “America’s Choice” balloting and writes both the results and articles for Tall Talk. He is also TAIS historian and is a long time member of AIS.
HYBRIDIZING: Jerry hybridized and introduced 3 tall beardeds - Lady Natalie and Eternal Praise in 2006 and Rockin’ Elizabeth in 2021, a space-ager named for his grand-daughter, Elizabeth.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB-SA ROCKIN' ELIZABETH, by Jerry James, 2021, (Self: Ice blue with lavender horns, ice blue spoons)
VIRGINIA (LACKEY) MATHEWS KEYSER
FAMILY HISTORY: Virginia was born in Oklahoma, probably in Stillwater where her parents were both professors at Oklahoma A & M College (now OSU). She had two brothers, Woody and Guy. She was married for a time and had a son and daughter, but that marriage ended. During World War II she worked at Boeing Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas as a sheet metal assembler riveter on the B-29 Super Fortress production line. She was proud to have been a “Rosie the Riveter” and was a member of the American Rosie the Riveter Association, attending their annual convention at age 99.
While working at Boeing she met Clarence Mathews who owned a ranch in Kinsley, Kansas near Dodge City. They were married from 1943 until Clarence died in 1974. She was known as an “intellectual Okie cowgirl” for her love of reading and classical music as they ran 200+ head of Hereford horned cattle. Besides being a real cowhand, Virginia drove a tractor for wheat, maize, and alfalfa harvests.
IRIS INSPIRATION: While ranching in Kansas, Virginia developed a passion for irises and working in her half-acre iris garden. In 1966 she & Clarence sold the Kansas ranch and moved the cattle herd to Willcox, Arizona and then to Ada, Oklahoma. Sometime after Clarence’s death she was back in Stillwater caring for her aging parents. Everywhere she went she gardened and grew irises.
She joined AIS in 1959, became a judge, and held the record of attending 53 AIS conventions. In Oklahoma she was a member of the Sooner State Iris Society. Her garden in Stillwater was on the tour during the Tulsa AIS Convention in 1980. After macular degeneration left her legally blind, her friend, Marthella Shoemake became her eyes at conventions. At 80 she met up with her old high school sweetheart, Gail Keyser. He promised that if she would marry him and move to Salinas, California, he would support her in a comfortable way, so she did. There she joined the Monterey Bay Iris Society and later hired a gardener, Maia Cahill, who worked for her for 24 years and attended several iris conventions with her as her new “eyes.” She died in early 2023 at age 104.
HYBRIDIZING: Virginia dabbled in hybridizing, introducing four tall bearded irises: Repeater Maid (1965 TB-RE), Repink (1999 TB-RE), Zennie (1999 TB), and her popular broken color rebloomer, Ziggy (2000 TB Novelty) which received an HM in 2002.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB ZIGGY, by Virginia Keyser, 2000, HM 2002. (Novelty, broken color, S: straw yellow, F: straw yellow with erratic red-violet purple, yellow beard)
RONALD WAYNE MULLIN
FAMILY HISTORY: Ron was born in Marlow, Oklahoma in September, 1939, the son of Veda and Joe Mullin, and grew up working on the family farm. He was valedictorian of his 1957 graduating class at Marlow High School and received a scholarship for outstanding academic achievement to the University of Central Oklahoma, where he received his BS in business and a master’s degree in business and English. Thereafter, he taught school at Pawnee, Oklahoma for 35 years, where he taught business classes and the Pawnee language (with fewer than 100 Pawnee native language speakers in the town, Mullin was zealous to teach Pawnee youngsters in an effort to save the native language from extinction). He was that school’s “Teacher of the Year” in 2000. He was also the faithful statistician for the Black Bear sports teams for many years.
For all his success as an iris hybridizer, Ron always said the greatest contribution he made in his life was teaching the young men and women of Pawnee. Ron Mullin died August 17, 2010 in Pawnee. “Ron was a kind and gentle man … who visited and cared for his mother for her entire lifetime … a giver - to his family and every iris grower who crossed his path,” said his longtime friend, Phil Williams of Rocky Top Gardens in Tennessee.
IRIS INSPIRATION: In 1965 he joined the American Iris Society, at the encouragement of iris growing friends, Leah Ralls, Art Nelson and Bee Warburton. Mullin was a member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society from 1977 to 1999 and served as its President 1992-1995. During his long history as an iris grower and member of the American Iris Society, he served at the local, regional and national levels, culminating in his election as AIS president (1984-1986). Among other AIS positions he filled were: Region 22 RVP (1995); AIS Award chairman; judges training chairman; membership secretary; AIS Bulletin editor (1988-1996); three time National Convention chairman (1980 in Tulsa and 1988 and 1999 in Oklahoma City); author of the AIS Convention Handbook; and a contributor to The World of Irises. In 1987 he was awarded the AIS Distinguished Service Medal and in 2010 the AIS Gold Medal, the highest award given by the Society.
HIBRIDIZING: Ron hybridized and introduced 23 irises. His beautiful pastel plicata tall bearded, Rhonda Fleming (1993), was named for his movie star friend with whom he corresponded for years. It won the Wister Medal in 1999, the President’s cup for best-in-region at National Convention, and in 2004 was voted into the Tall Bearded Iris Society’s “Hall of Fame.” He also won two tall bearded Awards of Merit with Petty Is (1995) and Barbara Jean (2005). In 2010 Hugh Stout, another Oklahoma hybridizer, introduced Ron Mullin in Ron’s honor, and it received an Honorable Mention in 2012.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB BARBARA JEAN, by Ron Mullin, 2005, HM 2007, AM 2009 (Self: Silver blue w dark blue beard)
TB JENNIFER STOUT, by Ron Mullin, 2009, HM 2012, AM 2015 (pale violet becoming deeper purple towards the midrib at center, beard light violet on end to yellow-orange in throat)
THOMAS ORRIN “Tom” MUNGER, JR.,
FAMILY HISTORY: Tom was born in March, 1915 in Waukomis, Garfield co., Oklahoma, the son of Mr. and Mrs. T. O. Munger, Sr. He grew up in Perry, Noble Co., Oklahoma where he graduated from high school in 1933. He then attended Oklahoma A&M College (now OSU) and was a member of the OSU Alumni Association. In 1940 he married Eleanor Pope. In 1946 the Mungers moved to Enid, Garfield Co., Oklahoma where Tom owned and operated the Tom Munger Seed Company.
A veteran of World War II, he was a member of the American Legion, the Kiwanis club, and the Masons and other organizations including Oklahoma Seedman Association of which he was past president. He died just short of his 58th birthday; his wife and two sons, Orrin and Jim survived him as did four grandchildren.
HYBRIDIZING: Around 1967 Tom became interested in hybridizing iris. His first introduction was Cherokee Brave (1967). His next introductions were Woodland Shadows (1971) and Cherokee Princess (1971); both received HM awards, the first in 1972 and the second in 1973. He was president of the North Central Iris Society at the time of his death on February 19, 1973, cutting short a very promising hybridizing future.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
(Pending)
CLEO RAYMOND PALMER
FAMILY HISTORY: Cleo was born in September, 1927 in Calumet, Canadian Co., Oklahoma. His parents were Frank M. and Daisy B. (Decker) Palmer. His was raised on his parents’ farm near Darlington in Canadian County, where he completed high school then registered for the draft on September 4, 1945. On February 19, 1946 he enlisted in the U. S. Army at Oklahoma City and served as a Tech 4. In 1950, at 22, he was still at home with his mother and an older step-brother helping farm their home place after his father‘s death. Cleo never married. He died May 8, 1996 in El Reno, Canadian Co., Oklahoma.
HYBRIDIZING: When the iris bug bit him is not clear. But he was a prolific hybridizer, specializing in the smaller bearded types mostly introduced through Riverdale Iris, Tell Iris, or his own Palmer Iris Farm in Geary, OK. He introduced a total of 140 irises: 75 standard dwarf bearded (SDB); 38 intermediate bearded (IB); 7 miniature dwarf bearded (MDB); 5 border bearded (BB); and 6 Arilbreds (AB), but only 9 tall bearded (TB).
His TB Twist of Fate (1980) received the President’s Cup for Best Iris in the Region at the National Convention in Tulsa that same year. Two IB’s received multiple awards: Sea Patrol (1960, HM ‘72, AM ‘74, Sass Medal, ‘76) and Snow Festival (1974, HM ‘76, State Prize, International Iris Competition, Vienna, 1980). A number of his other IB’s received Honorable Mentions: Blue Calico (1986, HM ‘88); Blue Polka Dots (1970, HM ‘72); Cat’s Meow (1983, HM ‘86); Champ (1984, HM ‘89); Confrontation (1979, HM ‘79); Midnight Stroll (1975, HM ‘79); Pink Empress (1989, HM ‘92); Poetic Art (1983, HM ‘96); Red Chips (1982, HM ‘86); Rippling Snow (1978, HM ‘83); Wisteria Sachet (1972, HM ‘74); and Work of Art (1983, HM 1987). His BBs Midnight Intruder (1983) and Painted Hills (1984) received Honorable Mentions in ‘85 and ‘86, respectively. MDBs April Ballet (1972); Betty Emmons (1979); and Extra (1989) received Honorable Mentions in ‘71, ‘84 and ‘92 respectively. And honorees among his most prolific category, SDBs, were Angelic (1974, HM ’75); Canary Prince (1970, HM ’72); Dorothy Howard (1988, HM ’91), named for a founding, long-time member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society; Oklahoma Jubilee (1986, HM ’90); Royal Carnival (1974, HM ’75); and Silver Finery (1976, HM ’79).
Two of his most popular IB’s are Fantastic Blue (1973) and Western Sage (1975), similar in pattern but the former is blue while the other is lavender. Both are early, prolific, and hardy.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
IB FANTASTIC BLUE, by Cleo Palmer, 1975, HM 1977 (Lt. Blue with dark violet halo & white veined shoulder around yellow beard)
DR. MARVIN LEROY SADDORIS, Sr.,
FAMILY HISTORY: Marvin was born in September, 1902 in Herington, Dickinson Co., Kansas, the son of Alfred L. and Tina Ellen (Shelton) Saddoris. The family later moved to Sayre, OK, where they lived when Marvin was 18. He attended Sayre High School where as an athlete he was on the track team and played on his school’s football, basketball, baseball and tennis teams and was also student body vice-president. He graduated in 1921.
He was married to Eula Foster and the couple had four children: Mavin L., jr., James A., A. M. (Mac) and Elizabeth. Eula died in 1971 and in 1972 he married Thelma (Dixon) Chandler, the widow of Milford Gilson Chandler. Dr. Saddoris died March 13, 1977 in Cleveland and is buried in the Woodland Cemetery there.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Marvin and Eula (Mama Doc) made their home in Cleveland, Pawnee Co., Ok, and he was a founding member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society.
HYBRIDIZING: Leroy’s six introductions were all tall bearded irises: Red Prelude introduced in 1966 and Burgundy Ruffles, Burnt Sugar Cake, Chicory Chick, Mama Doc, and Purple Martin, all of which were introduced in 1975.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
Pending
HUGH STOUT, Jr.
FAMILY HISTORY: Hugh was born in Oklahoma City in 1954, the son of Dr. Hugh Stout and Ruth Marie (Baisch) Stout. His father, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oklahoma, was a pathologist who was a professor at OU for many years and practiced internal medicine in Oklahoma City for over 22 years, wrote numerous articles published in medical journals and was founder and owner of two medical laboratories and two nursing homes in Oklahoma City. In addition to the work Hugh, Jr. has done in the field of iris & daylily propagation, he chaired both the Beautification and Advocacy committees during eight years on the board of Oklahoma City Beautiful where he won the Morrison Graham Tucker Leadership Award. He is also past treasurer of Sustainable OKC.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Hugh, Jr. attended Western State University, Oklahoma University and OSU-OKC where he studied geology, history, landscaping architecture and horticulture. Because of his love of plants, he joined several garden clubs, including the Oklahoma Iris Society in 1977. He has been passionate about iris ever since.
Hugh has been growing, showing and hybridizing both iris and daylilies since 1999. His iris work is done at his Stout Gardens at Dancing Tree in Oklahoma City, established in 2008, where he sells both irises and daylilies. He not only markets iris that he, himself, has hybridized and introduced but those of other hybridizers across the U. S. and France.
He is a master judge with the American Iris Society as well as a past garden judge for the American Hemerocallis Society. He has twice served as president of the Oklahoma Horticultural Society and the Oklahoma Iris Society. He represented Region 22 (Oklahoma and Arkansas) of the American Iris Society (AIS) as Regional Vice President (RVP) and also as RVP representative to the AIS. He was president of the Tall Bearded Iris Society and currently serves as its acting president. He has also been president of his local Oklahoma Iris Society and the Oklahoma Horticultural Society for six years Hugh travels all over the United States each year giving programs and judging clinics for iris societies and visits several iris gardens annually to keep up with the latest trends.
HYBRIDIZING: As of 2021, Hugh had introduced 67 Tall Beardeds, 33 Standard Dwarf Beardeds, 5 Intermediate Beardeds, 2 Miniature Dwarf Beardeds, 1 Border Bearded and 2 Species irises. Tall Bearded introductions that have received awards are: Back Draft (2009, HM ‘12, AM ‘14); Corinthian Leather (2017, HM ‘21); Luminager (2016, HM ‘18, AM ‘21 and a runner-up in the voting for the Wister Medal in ‘23); Petticoat Junction (2107, HM ‘21); and Ron Mullin (2010, HM ‘12). Standard Dwarf introductions receiving awards are: Backtrace (2016, HM ‘19); Divenere (2016, HM ‘19, AM ‘21); Flaming Lips (2013, HM ‘17); Fruit at the Bottom (2018, HM ‘21); Kewlopolis (2017, HM ‘19, AM ‘21); Pooh Bear (2013, HM ‘17); Quench (2013, HM ‘17); Route Sixty-Six (2013, HM 2017); Sherryl My Love (2018, HM ‘21; and Too Cool For School (2017, HM ‘21). His first Intermediate Bearded award came with Fried Green Tomatoes (2019, HM ‘21). Hugh was still actively introducing new hybrids at the time of this posting, so this list is not complete.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB BACKDRAFT, by Hugh Stout, Jr., 2009, HM 2012, AM 2014 (Bi-Tone: Pink-peach/ Deep Garnet with red-orange beard)
SDB DIVENERE, by Hugh Stout, Jr., 2016, HM 2019, AM 2021 (White/white w. deep blue spot with veins, baby blue beard fading to white at the ends)
Note: TAIS thanks Jerry James for the many hours of research he did to compile and write the original version of this manuscript. The original was edited only slightly by Cheryl Wilson. The original information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 01-22-2024.
FAMILY HISTORY: Where s/he came from and other family info.
IRIS INSPIRATION: How s/he was inspired to grow irises and/or how s/he inspired others, including work done in iris societies. If the person had a connection to TAIS (Tulsa Area Iris Society), this is high-lighted in bold italicized print.
HYBRIDIZING: Some of the more notable iris cultivars that this person hybridized and introduced are listed. If the cultivars received awards, these are noted (although this information could be incomplete for newer introductions that could receive awards after this posting).
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN OK Hybridizer Section: If a cultivar, hybridized by this person, has been added to the Oklahoma Hybridizer Section of the TAIS Display Garden in Woodward Park, Tulsa, OK, it is listed with a brief description. This section is subject to change with additions or changes in the display garden.
ANN DEE (MURPHY) BARROW
FAMILY HISTORY: Ann Dee was born in Stillwater, Payne co., Oklahoma in June, 1936, the daughter of Andy and Zola Murphy who were school teachers with 5 children of whom Ann Dee was the eldest. The Murphy’s taught in several Oklahoma and Kansas schools before settling in Glencoe, Oklahoma. They also owned a drug store and Andy was a truck farmer in the summer months. Ann Dee attended Glencoe High School and married Joe Barrow, her high school boyfriend, in 1954. He had joined the U. S. Navy and made it a 20-year career, retiring back to their home town of Glencoe in 1972. They had 5 children, 7 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. Her husband Joe died in 1993. All the children were grown and had left home, all three boys to join the U. S. Navy.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Ann Dee worked in the garden before she was five and loved it. Her parents operated a small greenhouse business for 20 years. They became interested in iris and joined several iris societies - North Central in Enid, Northern in Ponca City, Sooner State in Oklahoma City and Rolling Hill in Stillwater. They also attended many other iris groups and judging schools; Ann Dee’s favorites were the pollen daubers seminars held each year by Sooner State.
HYBRIDIZING: Ann Dee began hybridizing iris, starting with SDB’s. She has several hundred seedlings, but only one tall bearded, Lady Laree, a white and purple plicata with three branches and seven buds named for a sister-in-law, has been exceptional. After it won “Best Seedling” awards in several shows, Dean and Georgia Brand from the Tulsa Area Iris Society convinced her to register it, and it was introduced in 2000. It has been the Queen of 4 or 5 shows and received an HM in 2006. Ann Dee, a retired AIS Master Judge, has slowed down and only makes 5 or 6 crosses each year.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN OK Hybridizer Section:
TB LADY LAREE, by Ann Barrows, 2002, HM 2006 (Plicata: white with heavy purple on standards, and thin purple edging on falls, dark violet beard)
PAUL BLACK
FAMILY HISTORY: Paul was born in Guymon, Texas co., Oklahoma, the son of Harold and Leta Black. He graduated from high school there; then went to Oklahoma City to attend Central State University where he received a bachelors degree in psychology and sociology; then attended OU School of Health Sciences to work for a master’s degree in business.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Paul credits his grandmother, Ruth Black, for his gardening talents. He spent time with her in summers, working in her vegetable and flower gardens, and it was in her gardens that he was first introduced to iris, which his grandmother received from a friend who to her astonishment often paid $20-$25 for a single rhizome. Remembering his grandmother’s iris, when he bought his first home, he went looking for iris and discovered the local Oklahoma Iris Society rhizome sale where he purchased some rhizomes. Told that, if he kept the names, he could enter blooms in the Spring Iris Show, he did so, received the “Best Specimen Award,” and was hooked.
HYBRIDIZING: Encouraged by Oklahoma hybidizers Cleo Palmer and Perry Dyer, Paul began making crosses in 1979. That same year Paul went into business with Perry in his Contemporary Gardens, a partnership that lasted two years. He wanted it to be a full-time business, but Perry wasn’t able to accommodate that, so Paul quit his job and started his own iris business, Mid-American Gardens. His first catalog appeared in 1981 and contained his own introductions in 1982. Among his first introductions were a bright yellow IB, Harlow Gold, runner-up for the Sass Medal, and an SDB, which would become his specialty, Tiger Print, which won his first AIS Award of Merit. In 1988 Paul’s TB, Glitz ‘N’ Glitter, won his first Award of Merit in that class. Oklahoma Crude also was an AM winner in the TB class. Tragedy struck in 1993 when rot wiped out Paul’s entire garden. In 1994 Thomas Johnson moved iris from his garden in Canada to become a partner in the business. The fact that Mid-America also marketed daylilies, hostas and Japanese and Siberian irises saved the business. It was not until 1996 that bearded iris were again in the catalog which included Paul‘s introduction of Tom Johnson, a Wister Medal winner in 2003. In 1998 the garden was moved to Salem, Oregon where it became one of the preeminent iris hybridizing and marketing businesses in the nation. Paul is America’s most honored hybridizer, as follows, through 2022. He has won 8 Caparne-Welch Medals for Best MDB: Elf Esteem ‘21, Beetlejuice ‘19, Cute as a Button ‘17, Dollop of Cream ‘12; Chemistry ‘10, Dinky Circus ‘04, Cinnamon Apples ‘95 and Spot of Tea ‘95; has 12 times won the Cook-Douglas Award for Best SDB: Portland Pink ’21, My Cher ’18, Open Your Eyes ’16, Zooboomapoo ’15, Eye of the Tiger ‘14, Wish Upon a Star ‘13, Bluebeard’s Ghost ‘12, Fires of Fiji ‘11, Puddy Tat ‘09, Cat’s Eye ‘08, Pumpin’ Iron ‘96, and Chubby Cheeks ‘91,which in 2021brought him the rarely given AIS Board of Director’s Award; has 7 times won the Knowlton Medal for Best BB: My Cher of Happiness, ‘19, Ballerina Pink, ‘17, Lady of the Night ‘14, Bundle of Love ‘13, Crow’s Feet ‘12, Fleece As White ‘11, and Go for Bold ‘07; has 7 times received the Sass Medal for Best IB: Apple Crisp ‘22, Cat in the Hat ’18, Star in the Night ’16, Man’s Best Friend ’15, Dazzling ’14 and Nickel ‘12; and has 5 Mohr medals for Best Aril Bred: Heart of Hearts ‘21, Desert Snow ‘19, Brash and Bold ‘16, She Devil ‘03 and Prairie Thunder ‘98. Besides Tom Johnson in ‘03, these TB’s have also won Wister Medals: Money in Your Pocket ‘15, Beauty Becomes Her ‘17 and Bluebird of Happiness ‘21. He earned the Walther Cup for most honorable mentions 8 times; the Ben Hager cup 4 times; and the President’s Cup twice; the AIS Hybridizers Award in 2002; the Gold Medal in the Premio Firenze in Florence, Italy with Sighs and Whispers ‘92 and Dude Ranch ‘02; the Median Iris Society’s Bennett C. Jones Award for Outstanding Median Hybridizing in ‘09; and the British Iris Society’s Hybridizing Award. In 2011 Paul sold his interest in Mid-America to Thomas, but he continues to hybridize and introduce new irises of various types.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN OK Hybridizer Section:
AB PERRY DYER, by Paul Black, 2017, HM 2019, AM 2021, WMM 2023, (Near White/white with Plum spot, beard is brown to light grey)
PERRY DYER
FAMILY HISTORY: Perry was born in August, 1955, apparently in Blanchard, where he made his home. He had one sister, Kathleen. In high school, Perry was a straight-A student, a pianist and teacher of piano. He went on to earn a BA in music, with a major in piano performance, from Oklahoma University in 1977. He was a longtime pianist at the Disciples of Christ Christian Church in New Castle, Oklahoma. He made a career with the Federal Aviation Administration as a lead inventory management specialist, a high pressure job that caused him to stop issuing his iris catalogs about 2006. He retired in 2013 after 36 years of service, but continued active in the iris business and iris organizations until his death.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Perry’s interest in irises began in grade school with strong support from his mother, Kitty. He was the first winner in 1974 of the AIS Clarke Cosgrove Youth Achievement Award. At age 16 he was “considered somewhat of an authority on iris,” per an article in the Norman Transcript as he was already growing about 500 irises. Perry became well known to iris growers for his witty and observant “Contemporary Views” articles which appeared annually for many years until 2018 in the AIS Bulletin in which he reviewed and commented on the best of newer irises he had seen that year at convention and in gardens he had visited. He had a way with words that will be missed. As a member of the Sooner State Iris Society, he was instrumental in encouraging Paul Black to begin hybridizing.
Perry served as chairman of the “Median Spree in ‘93” in Oklahoma City, the second Median Iris mini-convention. He was a two-term president of the Median Iris Society (2003-2008) as well as the Society of Louisiana Irises (1994-1997). He participated extensively in the three national AIS conventions held in Oklahoma in 1988, 1999 and 2007 and judged the Premio Firenze iris competition in Florence, Italy in 1993 and 2000. In 2009 he received the AIS Distinguished Service Medal. Perry had a heart attack and was recovering from that when he succumbed to a second one on September 3, 2018.
HYBRIDIZING: Perry hybridized and introduced 44 irises of various types, receiving 21 Honorable Mentions and 9 Awards of Merit, including these which won top awards: Silent Strings (1979 IB) won the Sass Medal in 1988; Soft Spoken (1980 BB) the Knowlton Medal in 1988; Serenity Prayer (1989 SDB) the Cook-Douglas Medal in 1995; and Prince of Egypt (2007 AB Median) the Mohr Medal in 2015. He was a member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society in the 1970’s and in later years was often a knowledgeable and delightful judge of TAIS shows and others around the area.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
IB ON GOLDEN POND, by Perry Dyer, 1988, (golden yellow self, beard is bushy gold to orange)
ALVA JAMES HICKERSON and RILLA HICKERSON:
FAMILY HISTORY: Rilla (Cowan) Hickerson was born in November, 1914, the daughter of Dorothy and Ansel Cowan, on a farm outside of Snyder, OK. She began her education at Grandview, a small 1-room schoolhouse near Snyder. She later attended Cameron Junior College and Oklahoma A&M (now OSU). She and Alva were married September 2, 1935 and after graduation, moved to Tulsa, where Alva was employed with the Corps of Engineers and Southwest Power Administration. The couple had three sons, Terry, Walter and Steve, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. During the 1960’s, Rilla was involved with the Tulsa Anglers Club and spent many hours at Braden Park near her home teaching young people how to cast. She helped with and directed many tournaments held by the club and organized its annual fish fry fundraiser.
Both Alva and Rilla treasured their times fishing and camping on the Illinois River and, after retirement, they expanded their enjoyment by spending the winters in the Florida Keys fishing, collecting shells and meeting new friends.
IRIS INSPIRATION: The Hickersons were both avid iris growers and founding members of the Tulsa Area Iris Society in 1962, with Rilla serving as the chairperson of the club’s first show. In 1964 she won Best of Show for the tall bearded ‘Voodoo’ (Rudolph Kleinsorge, 1948).
Alva and Rilla were considered mentors of Paul Gossett, legendary member of TAIS and AIS, whom they helped start his iris gardening in 1980. They continued as active members of TAIS until their deaths, Alva in 1986 and Rilla on March 29, 2007. They had also been active members of the American Iris Society.
HYBRIDIZING: Alva gave the iris world a number of introductions, including 6 tall beardeds, 3 border beardeds and 4 standard dwarf beardeds, and Rilla had one introduction of her own. Alva especially liked plicatas and iris in the brown/red/orange/yellow color range. Scuppernong Rose (1975 BB, HM 1976) was such a plicata, with gold standards and white ground falls heavily stippled red with gold rims and beards. Among his tall bearded introductions are Amarillo Rojo (1981); Allison (1975); Omega Gold (1976 TB); and Sooner Peach (1982 TB). His border bearded Tawny Gold (1976) received an Award of Merit in 1979.
After Alva’s death, Rilla introduced in 1991 two of Alva’s iris originals: a wonderful brown plicata border bearded she named Alva in his honor and the tall bearded Pleasure Peach, popular in local gardens. Her own great success came with Raspberry Rilla, a Louisiana iris of the color of its name. It received an Award of Merit in 2008 and the DeBaillion Medal in 2011.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
BB ALVA, by Alva Hickerson, 1991, (Plicata: Gold-Brown & Cream/ purple stripe on falls, brown-purple beard)
JERRY PRESTON JAMES
FAMILY HISTORY: Jerry was born in October, 1936 in Canon City, Colorado, the son of William Franklin and Frankie Myrtle (Beall) James. With his itinerate family he grew up living in Enid and Nash, OK; Wellington, KS; Longview WA; New Plymouth and Emmett, ID; and Loveland, CO, where he graduated from high school and received a scholarship to Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma. There he was a member of the student senate; student body vice-president; a member of Blue Key National Honor Society and “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities;” and received in 1958 his BA degree in Social Science. He attended George Washington University Law School in Washington, D. C. at night for 20 hours while working at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Finding law not what he wanted, he entered OSU and took a Masters in 1963 in secondary education. He then taught history at Enid H. S. for three years, during which time on June 7, 1963, he married Rose-Marie Roberts.
Jerry & Rose Marie have three sons, David, Brien and Jeffrey, 5 grandchildren and 9 great-grands. In 1964, he returned to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, D. C. and in 1967 became legislative assistant to Rep. Page Belcher (R-OK). During this period he also acted in community theater: at Mount Vernon Players, winning best acting awards for roles in “The Lark,” “The Heiress” and “All My Sons;” playing the male lead in “The Fantasticks” at the Little Theater of Alexandria and the Red Barn in Greenwich, CN; and the lead in “The Desert Song” for the American Light Opera Company. When Rep. Belcher retired, James signed on as one of the founders of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank, and served as its second president before leaving to become founding headmaster of Way of Faith Christian Academy in Fairfax co., Virginia, where he also taught junior high and high school classes.
With Jerry’s family in Oklahoma and Kansas and Rose Marie’s in California, the couple decided in 1977 to return to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Thereafter, Jerry’s “eclectic career,” as he calls it, found him helping ORU raise funds for the graduate schools; forming a Christian school at the Cherokee Children’s Mission in Adair county; serving as development director for the newly created Metro Christian Academy; manager of the successful mayoral campaign of his ORU co-worker, Richard C. Crawford, for Mayor of Tulsa and serving as his chief of staff (1986-1987); then returning to their rural Cherokee county home as treasurer for several rural public schools until retiring in 1999. “No matter how this looks, I was only fired once - from a summer job at Wal Mart,” James says. Of all of his jobs, he treasures most his recent years as a counselor of men, and, with his wife, of couples, through his church.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Jerry credits his neighbor, Mabel Kearns, in Emmett, ID with starting him in raising and showing iris in 8th grade. Whenever he had a yard, he always grew iris, until in the years 2013-2017 he had over 450 varieties in a small commercial garden. As a member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society since 1998, he won many show awards at local shows, including three for “Best of Show.”
In retirement James has long been the tabulator of the Tall Bearded Iris Society’s “America’s Choice” balloting and writes both the results and articles for Tall Talk. He is also TAIS historian and is a long time member of AIS.
HYBRIDIZING: Jerry hybridized and introduced 3 tall beardeds - Lady Natalie and Eternal Praise in 2006 and Rockin’ Elizabeth in 2021, a space-ager named for his grand-daughter, Elizabeth.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB-SA ROCKIN' ELIZABETH, by Jerry James, 2021, (Self: Ice blue with lavender horns, ice blue spoons)
VIRGINIA (LACKEY) MATHEWS KEYSER
FAMILY HISTORY: Virginia was born in Oklahoma, probably in Stillwater where her parents were both professors at Oklahoma A & M College (now OSU). She had two brothers, Woody and Guy. She was married for a time and had a son and daughter, but that marriage ended. During World War II she worked at Boeing Aircraft in Wichita, Kansas as a sheet metal assembler riveter on the B-29 Super Fortress production line. She was proud to have been a “Rosie the Riveter” and was a member of the American Rosie the Riveter Association, attending their annual convention at age 99.
While working at Boeing she met Clarence Mathews who owned a ranch in Kinsley, Kansas near Dodge City. They were married from 1943 until Clarence died in 1974. She was known as an “intellectual Okie cowgirl” for her love of reading and classical music as they ran 200+ head of Hereford horned cattle. Besides being a real cowhand, Virginia drove a tractor for wheat, maize, and alfalfa harvests.
IRIS INSPIRATION: While ranching in Kansas, Virginia developed a passion for irises and working in her half-acre iris garden. In 1966 she & Clarence sold the Kansas ranch and moved the cattle herd to Willcox, Arizona and then to Ada, Oklahoma. Sometime after Clarence’s death she was back in Stillwater caring for her aging parents. Everywhere she went she gardened and grew irises.
She joined AIS in 1959, became a judge, and held the record of attending 53 AIS conventions. In Oklahoma she was a member of the Sooner State Iris Society. Her garden in Stillwater was on the tour during the Tulsa AIS Convention in 1980. After macular degeneration left her legally blind, her friend, Marthella Shoemake became her eyes at conventions. At 80 she met up with her old high school sweetheart, Gail Keyser. He promised that if she would marry him and move to Salinas, California, he would support her in a comfortable way, so she did. There she joined the Monterey Bay Iris Society and later hired a gardener, Maia Cahill, who worked for her for 24 years and attended several iris conventions with her as her new “eyes.” She died in early 2023 at age 104.
HYBRIDIZING: Virginia dabbled in hybridizing, introducing four tall bearded irises: Repeater Maid (1965 TB-RE), Repink (1999 TB-RE), Zennie (1999 TB), and her popular broken color rebloomer, Ziggy (2000 TB Novelty) which received an HM in 2002.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB ZIGGY, by Virginia Keyser, 2000, HM 2002. (Novelty, broken color, S: straw yellow, F: straw yellow with erratic red-violet purple, yellow beard)
RONALD WAYNE MULLIN
FAMILY HISTORY: Ron was born in Marlow, Oklahoma in September, 1939, the son of Veda and Joe Mullin, and grew up working on the family farm. He was valedictorian of his 1957 graduating class at Marlow High School and received a scholarship for outstanding academic achievement to the University of Central Oklahoma, where he received his BS in business and a master’s degree in business and English. Thereafter, he taught school at Pawnee, Oklahoma for 35 years, where he taught business classes and the Pawnee language (with fewer than 100 Pawnee native language speakers in the town, Mullin was zealous to teach Pawnee youngsters in an effort to save the native language from extinction). He was that school’s “Teacher of the Year” in 2000. He was also the faithful statistician for the Black Bear sports teams for many years.
For all his success as an iris hybridizer, Ron always said the greatest contribution he made in his life was teaching the young men and women of Pawnee. Ron Mullin died August 17, 2010 in Pawnee. “Ron was a kind and gentle man … who visited and cared for his mother for her entire lifetime … a giver - to his family and every iris grower who crossed his path,” said his longtime friend, Phil Williams of Rocky Top Gardens in Tennessee.
IRIS INSPIRATION: In 1965 he joined the American Iris Society, at the encouragement of iris growing friends, Leah Ralls, Art Nelson and Bee Warburton. Mullin was a member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society from 1977 to 1999 and served as its President 1992-1995. During his long history as an iris grower and member of the American Iris Society, he served at the local, regional and national levels, culminating in his election as AIS president (1984-1986). Among other AIS positions he filled were: Region 22 RVP (1995); AIS Award chairman; judges training chairman; membership secretary; AIS Bulletin editor (1988-1996); three time National Convention chairman (1980 in Tulsa and 1988 and 1999 in Oklahoma City); author of the AIS Convention Handbook; and a contributor to The World of Irises. In 1987 he was awarded the AIS Distinguished Service Medal and in 2010 the AIS Gold Medal, the highest award given by the Society.
HIBRIDIZING: Ron hybridized and introduced 23 irises. His beautiful pastel plicata tall bearded, Rhonda Fleming (1993), was named for his movie star friend with whom he corresponded for years. It won the Wister Medal in 1999, the President’s cup for best-in-region at National Convention, and in 2004 was voted into the Tall Bearded Iris Society’s “Hall of Fame.” He also won two tall bearded Awards of Merit with Petty Is (1995) and Barbara Jean (2005). In 2010 Hugh Stout, another Oklahoma hybridizer, introduced Ron Mullin in Ron’s honor, and it received an Honorable Mention in 2012.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB BARBARA JEAN, by Ron Mullin, 2005, HM 2007, AM 2009 (Self: Silver blue w dark blue beard)
TB JENNIFER STOUT, by Ron Mullin, 2009, HM 2012, AM 2015 (pale violet becoming deeper purple towards the midrib at center, beard light violet on end to yellow-orange in throat)
THOMAS ORRIN “Tom” MUNGER, JR.,
FAMILY HISTORY: Tom was born in March, 1915 in Waukomis, Garfield co., Oklahoma, the son of Mr. and Mrs. T. O. Munger, Sr. He grew up in Perry, Noble Co., Oklahoma where he graduated from high school in 1933. He then attended Oklahoma A&M College (now OSU) and was a member of the OSU Alumni Association. In 1940 he married Eleanor Pope. In 1946 the Mungers moved to Enid, Garfield Co., Oklahoma where Tom owned and operated the Tom Munger Seed Company.
A veteran of World War II, he was a member of the American Legion, the Kiwanis club, and the Masons and other organizations including Oklahoma Seedman Association of which he was past president. He died just short of his 58th birthday; his wife and two sons, Orrin and Jim survived him as did four grandchildren.
HYBRIDIZING: Around 1967 Tom became interested in hybridizing iris. His first introduction was Cherokee Brave (1967). His next introductions were Woodland Shadows (1971) and Cherokee Princess (1971); both received HM awards, the first in 1972 and the second in 1973. He was president of the North Central Iris Society at the time of his death on February 19, 1973, cutting short a very promising hybridizing future.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
(Pending)
CLEO RAYMOND PALMER
FAMILY HISTORY: Cleo was born in September, 1927 in Calumet, Canadian Co., Oklahoma. His parents were Frank M. and Daisy B. (Decker) Palmer. His was raised on his parents’ farm near Darlington in Canadian County, where he completed high school then registered for the draft on September 4, 1945. On February 19, 1946 he enlisted in the U. S. Army at Oklahoma City and served as a Tech 4. In 1950, at 22, he was still at home with his mother and an older step-brother helping farm their home place after his father‘s death. Cleo never married. He died May 8, 1996 in El Reno, Canadian Co., Oklahoma.
HYBRIDIZING: When the iris bug bit him is not clear. But he was a prolific hybridizer, specializing in the smaller bearded types mostly introduced through Riverdale Iris, Tell Iris, or his own Palmer Iris Farm in Geary, OK. He introduced a total of 140 irises: 75 standard dwarf bearded (SDB); 38 intermediate bearded (IB); 7 miniature dwarf bearded (MDB); 5 border bearded (BB); and 6 Arilbreds (AB), but only 9 tall bearded (TB).
His TB Twist of Fate (1980) received the President’s Cup for Best Iris in the Region at the National Convention in Tulsa that same year. Two IB’s received multiple awards: Sea Patrol (1960, HM ‘72, AM ‘74, Sass Medal, ‘76) and Snow Festival (1974, HM ‘76, State Prize, International Iris Competition, Vienna, 1980). A number of his other IB’s received Honorable Mentions: Blue Calico (1986, HM ‘88); Blue Polka Dots (1970, HM ‘72); Cat’s Meow (1983, HM ‘86); Champ (1984, HM ‘89); Confrontation (1979, HM ‘79); Midnight Stroll (1975, HM ‘79); Pink Empress (1989, HM ‘92); Poetic Art (1983, HM ‘96); Red Chips (1982, HM ‘86); Rippling Snow (1978, HM ‘83); Wisteria Sachet (1972, HM ‘74); and Work of Art (1983, HM 1987). His BBs Midnight Intruder (1983) and Painted Hills (1984) received Honorable Mentions in ‘85 and ‘86, respectively. MDBs April Ballet (1972); Betty Emmons (1979); and Extra (1989) received Honorable Mentions in ‘71, ‘84 and ‘92 respectively. And honorees among his most prolific category, SDBs, were Angelic (1974, HM ’75); Canary Prince (1970, HM ’72); Dorothy Howard (1988, HM ’91), named for a founding, long-time member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society; Oklahoma Jubilee (1986, HM ’90); Royal Carnival (1974, HM ’75); and Silver Finery (1976, HM ’79).
Two of his most popular IB’s are Fantastic Blue (1973) and Western Sage (1975), similar in pattern but the former is blue while the other is lavender. Both are early, prolific, and hardy.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
IB FANTASTIC BLUE, by Cleo Palmer, 1975, HM 1977 (Lt. Blue with dark violet halo & white veined shoulder around yellow beard)
DR. MARVIN LEROY SADDORIS, Sr.,
FAMILY HISTORY: Marvin was born in September, 1902 in Herington, Dickinson Co., Kansas, the son of Alfred L. and Tina Ellen (Shelton) Saddoris. The family later moved to Sayre, OK, where they lived when Marvin was 18. He attended Sayre High School where as an athlete he was on the track team and played on his school’s football, basketball, baseball and tennis teams and was also student body vice-president. He graduated in 1921.
He was married to Eula Foster and the couple had four children: Mavin L., jr., James A., A. M. (Mac) and Elizabeth. Eula died in 1971 and in 1972 he married Thelma (Dixon) Chandler, the widow of Milford Gilson Chandler. Dr. Saddoris died March 13, 1977 in Cleveland and is buried in the Woodland Cemetery there.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Marvin and Eula (Mama Doc) made their home in Cleveland, Pawnee Co., Ok, and he was a founding member of the Tulsa Area Iris Society.
HYBRIDIZING: Leroy’s six introductions were all tall bearded irises: Red Prelude introduced in 1966 and Burgundy Ruffles, Burnt Sugar Cake, Chicory Chick, Mama Doc, and Purple Martin, all of which were introduced in 1975.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
Pending
HUGH STOUT, Jr.
FAMILY HISTORY: Hugh was born in Oklahoma City in 1954, the son of Dr. Hugh Stout and Ruth Marie (Baisch) Stout. His father, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oklahoma, was a pathologist who was a professor at OU for many years and practiced internal medicine in Oklahoma City for over 22 years, wrote numerous articles published in medical journals and was founder and owner of two medical laboratories and two nursing homes in Oklahoma City. In addition to the work Hugh, Jr. has done in the field of iris & daylily propagation, he chaired both the Beautification and Advocacy committees during eight years on the board of Oklahoma City Beautiful where he won the Morrison Graham Tucker Leadership Award. He is also past treasurer of Sustainable OKC.
IRIS INSPIRATION: Hugh, Jr. attended Western State University, Oklahoma University and OSU-OKC where he studied geology, history, landscaping architecture and horticulture. Because of his love of plants, he joined several garden clubs, including the Oklahoma Iris Society in 1977. He has been passionate about iris ever since.
Hugh has been growing, showing and hybridizing both iris and daylilies since 1999. His iris work is done at his Stout Gardens at Dancing Tree in Oklahoma City, established in 2008, where he sells both irises and daylilies. He not only markets iris that he, himself, has hybridized and introduced but those of other hybridizers across the U. S. and France.
He is a master judge with the American Iris Society as well as a past garden judge for the American Hemerocallis Society. He has twice served as president of the Oklahoma Horticultural Society and the Oklahoma Iris Society. He represented Region 22 (Oklahoma and Arkansas) of the American Iris Society (AIS) as Regional Vice President (RVP) and also as RVP representative to the AIS. He was president of the Tall Bearded Iris Society and currently serves as its acting president. He has also been president of his local Oklahoma Iris Society and the Oklahoma Horticultural Society for six years Hugh travels all over the United States each year giving programs and judging clinics for iris societies and visits several iris gardens annually to keep up with the latest trends.
HYBRIDIZING: As of 2021, Hugh had introduced 67 Tall Beardeds, 33 Standard Dwarf Beardeds, 5 Intermediate Beardeds, 2 Miniature Dwarf Beardeds, 1 Border Bearded and 2 Species irises. Tall Bearded introductions that have received awards are: Back Draft (2009, HM ‘12, AM ‘14); Corinthian Leather (2017, HM ‘21); Luminager (2016, HM ‘18, AM ‘21 and a runner-up in the voting for the Wister Medal in ‘23); Petticoat Junction (2107, HM ‘21); and Ron Mullin (2010, HM ‘12). Standard Dwarf introductions receiving awards are: Backtrace (2016, HM ‘19); Divenere (2016, HM ‘19, AM ‘21); Flaming Lips (2013, HM ‘17); Fruit at the Bottom (2018, HM ‘21); Kewlopolis (2017, HM ‘19, AM ‘21); Pooh Bear (2013, HM ‘17); Quench (2013, HM ‘17); Route Sixty-Six (2013, HM 2017); Sherryl My Love (2018, HM ‘21; and Too Cool For School (2017, HM ‘21). His first Intermediate Bearded award came with Fried Green Tomatoes (2019, HM ‘21). Hugh was still actively introducing new hybrids at the time of this posting, so this list is not complete.
FEATURED AT TAIS DISPLAY GARDEN, OK Hybridizer Section:
TB BACKDRAFT, by Hugh Stout, Jr., 2009, HM 2012, AM 2014 (Bi-Tone: Pink-peach/ Deep Garnet with red-orange beard)
SDB DIVENERE, by Hugh Stout, Jr., 2016, HM 2019, AM 2021 (White/white w. deep blue spot with veins, baby blue beard fading to white at the ends)
Note: TAIS thanks Jerry James for the many hours of research he did to compile and write the original version of this manuscript. The original was edited only slightly by Cheryl Wilson. The original information is accurate to the best of our knowledge as of 01-22-2024.