Mr. Douglas Mayfield passed away peacefully Monday, August 30, 1999. A great member, friend and mentor of BRDS, this gentleman will be missed more than we may now know. Please keep his sister and her family in your prayers. Cards and memorial acknowledgements may be sent to Baton Rouge Daylily, P. O. Box 45106, Baton Rouge, 70895. Also please remember Jim and Mary Baker, his best friends and garden angels. Many of us knew them as friends of BRDS and from visiting in Doug's garden. Donations to the William E. Monroe Endowment Fund, c/o The American Hemerocallis Society would be appreciated.
Doug never failed to visit with and encourage new people to consider and grow daylilies. His garden was an example of what we all wanted to achieve in our own yards. He bought excellent new introductions and the best of the classic registered daylilies. He had introduced several cultivars, many with the name "Rosemont" in the title. His generosity to the local club and region with plant donations was a stable and welcomed source of support for all.
In his will, Doug gave his collection of daylilies jointly to the Baton Rouge Daylily Society, and AHS. He gave the job of inventorying, and selling the plants to BRDS. This task fell to our President Ed Herringshaw and several members. It occupied their spare time for most of the month before the sale. Saturday, October 9th was the first day of the sale, where the plants were offered to the members of BRDS. A glimpse of that day can be found at Diggin Doug's Garden. Sale days followed the next weekend for interested members of Region 13.
As a result of his generous bequest, The American Hemerocallis Society recognized Doug's gift at the 1998 National Convention in Lafayette, LA with the President's Circle Award for the William E. Monroe Endowment Fund. Bill Monroe was a friend and member of the Baton Rouge Daylily and the longest serving Registrar of cultivars for the AHS.
by Muriel Walker