I am thankful to have met James. Many people will miss him.

Very sorry to hear this. I remember him as a lover, and pusher, of polyanthas. He will be missed.

He was one of our dearest friends for many, many years. I hate the thought that he is gone. HATE IT. There is a hole in my life that cannot be filled.

Jeri

I first encountered him as he lectured on polyantha roses at the El Cerrito Conference in 2005. He was an expert and collector of these under-appreciated roses, and wrote extensively about them and the world of roses. He will be greatly missed.
Anita

Anita, I went to that lecture, too. I did not speak with him that day, and afterwards when I came to know him elsewhere I wondered if it had been Jim who spoke that day. Thank you for solving one of life's little mysteries.

Rosefolly

I am so sad for the loss of Jim. For all he did and for all the right reasons.

I have held onto his color handout from the Palm Springs Meeting. Now I'll have to be especially careful with it.

"Profoundly decent" is an excellent description, Rosefolly. Funny, kind, altruistic, generous, respectful, particularly of his wonderful wife. I was taught you can learn much about a man by how he refers to and treats his spouse. He cherished, respected, admired and protected her. He was proud of her abilities, accomplishments, talents and proudest most that she chose him to spend her life with. My seedling, Super Jane, he named to honor her. He WAS a gentleman. I was blessed by his friendship and even more blessed that he felt the same way. This just HURTS. Kim

Kim said it just right.
"I was blessed by his friendship and even more blessed that he felt the same way. This just HURTS."

I have never had a better friend. Few things in this life have hurt me as badly as losing him.

Jeri

So sad. I only knew him from the forums, but I always enjoyed his posts.

I believe that the true measure of a man is the impact he has on others during his life time, and by this yard stick Jim was a giant among men. I miss him greatly.

Cliff

I am sorry for the loss of such a great friend to so many both here in the cyber world and more importantly in the real world. Listening to him and Jeri discuss a rose at a Ventura rose event was a treat.

He left a bunch of articles for us to enjoy on HMF.

I am reminded that a donation to HMF in memory of Jim Delahanty would do a lot of good, and would make JD smile.

Jeri

Very sorry to hear this even though I had never met him but I am feeling how much you all cared for him and am saddened for all of you and for his family.

Diane

What sad news, the world is poorer for the loss of a man who brought such happiness to so many. I only knew Jim from his posts here, but I always found them delightful. He will be missed.

I only knew him from the forums but I was always impressed by how kind, considerate and thoughtful he was in taking the time to answer my newbie questions when I was starting this adventure. I knew and understood that he was a major figure in the rose world but he never treated me like the green horn I was. He always answered my questions with respect, generosity and encouragement. He will be terribly missed.

I'm so sorry to read about the loss of your good friend.

Anne

I am very sorry for the loss of your friend, he sounds like one of those rare and wonderful people you don't meet very often.

Jeri, I notice that Patrick listed a number of gardens, etc. to which memorials may be sent. What is HMF and how do I find an address? Do you really think this one would be Jim's preference? My heart aches, and I'm afraid it always will. Message me via Jim's FB page if you like. Judy Devine

Not Jeri, but HMF is Help Me Find - Roses Jim supported Help Me Find monetarily as well as with articles for about the past fourteen or so years. He used the site extensively, literally daily. He and Jane also supported the other listed gardens.

The Delahanty Fund at Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles is a fund they set up. âÂÂJim knew from his own experience in law school how expensive books
can be,â said Jane, a retired telecommunications executive. âÂÂWe felt very strongly that no student wanting to take a class should be prevented from doing so because he or she could not afford materials.â There is more about The Delahanty Fund here. Kim

http://www.msmc.la.edu/include/CollegePublications/magazine/SummerFall2006.pdf

Here is a link that might be useful: Help Me Find - Roses Donations page

I got to "know" Jim on Facebook recently, had some lively discussions with him, and always enjoyed his writings and selection of posts on politics, books and movies. I was stunned to see his obituary on FB. I guess my DH's situation amplified the emotion of it, but really I was sad knowing I would never see his wonderful written words again. Kim's lovely salute to him is not surprising and makes me happy to know that he was as fine a man as that. When I saw the title of this thread, it clicked that Jim of Sherman Oaks was James J. Delahanty. I am sad for all of you in the loss of your dear friend. I wish I could have known him better longer.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Thank you, Kim, for the clarification. It sounds like any and all of the suggestions Patrick made are causes near and dear to Jim's heart.

Roseseek (and Patrick),

Thanks for the suggestions. I had been wondering what would be best to do.

Rosefolly

Many Rosarians joined us at this morning's funeral service for Jim Delahanty -- in a lovely Encino church.

Rather than spend money on florist's flowers, some of us brought roses from home for the altar. The money went instead to HelpMeFind -- as donations in Jim's memory. (You know, he has contributed many articles to HMF, and you can still read them there.)

One of the best floral tributes was FORTY (40!) sprays of Polyanthas (his favorite class) brought by Cliff Orent, all the way from Palm Springs.

After the service, people were invited to take the roses home, and enjoy them -- and some enterprising rosarians will use those blooms to start new plants, preserving some of those rare Polyanthas. THAT would make JD smile!

I've put up a little album on Facebook . . .

Jeri

Thank you for this, Jeri. How lovely, and how touched Jim would have been. Is the album you mention on your FB page or Jim's? I'd like to see it. Will go over there now and check. judy

It's on my fb page. If you can't get to it, I can change my settings for a day or two.

Jeri

A terrible loss of a wonderful caring man---I especially loved the way he wrote about his wife Jane------We attended the same high school in Hamilton Township N.J.---sad to say I'm a few years older than Jim so never had the honor of sharing a class-----
Florence

That's the way he lived, too. We'd travel to Sequoia Nursery frequently to visit with Ralph Moore, Carolyn and Burling. We had to plan the trips carefully so we wouldn't encounter any snow, ice, fog or rain, particularly going over the Grapevine. She would worry if we encountered any inclement weather, so if something sprang up at the last minute, the trip was postponed. He never did anything to cause her worry or grief. He honored and cherished her. They protected each other and enabled each other to do just about anything the other enjoyed. It was truly a joy to observe. Two very special people with a tremendous relationship. He never did anything half-baked. If he couldn't do it fully he didn't do it. Period. He permitted you to be fallible, but he demanded perfection from himself, making you WANT to do whatever it was as perfectly as you possibly could. He genuinely left you better off, a better version of yourself, for having known him. Kim

And I believe that quality came through even in his online friendships.

It still hasn't registered with my brain that Jim has made his transition.

The services and funeral were lovely, and I so enjoyed being with others who shared love and admiration for the man.

"Super Jane" is a highly appropriate nickname for his wife, and she is receiving lots of support -- my heart goes out to her.

I knew Jim Delahanty through Jane for several years and was glad he was my friend. I always wanted to find any of the pink roses he developed and named. Does anyone know how I could find any to grow in honor at my home in the midwest?

@CJ Bunce Burlington Roses has carried "Super Jane", the Annie Laurie McDowell sibling I raised decades ago. Jim asked permission to name it for Jane, which, of course, delighted me. Baby Jane Clare was a color sport of Ralph Moore's Sequoia Ruby discovered at Sequoia Nursery and donated by them for the Ventura County Rose Society fund raising, and was a micro miniature. Jim defiantly stood holding his paddle at the Ventura County Rose Society rose auction while the bidding was under way. He was DETERMINED he wanted THAT rose to name for his beloved. He won! Unfortunately Help Me Find-Roses doesn't list any commercial sources nor gardens listing or growing it so unless you can search one out on this forum or National Gardening Association, it may well be extinct. Super Jane is a large climber and demands room to strut her stuff. Good luck finding them. I hope you can.

If anyone can part with a shoot or start or branch from any of his named flowers that can be shipped to the Midwest during the appropriate time of year, please drop me a note. I'm an iris guy but would love to raise one of his roses in my garden and roses seem to do well here. Jim was a kindred spirit and we spent many an Oscars week discussing movies among other things. He was a gentleman of the first order.

Burlington Roses listed it as "in stock" on her 2024 availability list. The one for full sized roses, not the "miniature" list.