SARASOTA (WSNN) – The Suncoast loses Selby Garden’s very first director.
Dr. Calloway Dodson passed away over the weekend at age 91. His tenure at Selby Gardens began in 1973 and ran for 10 years.
His legacy? Helping position Selby Gardens as the foremost expert on scientifically documented orchids.
His co-founder, Dr. Carlyle Luer, and a few others were involved in making Selby Gardens the Botanical Institution it is today; distinguishing them internationally.
During his tenure, Dr. Dodson expanded Marie Selby’s seven acres with additional property, and created the Museum of Botany & the Arts in the Payne Mansion in 1979.
He also oversaw the construction of the greenhouse complex.
“Personally, it’s a tremendous loss of a great friend,” Selby Garden’s President & CEO, Jennifer Rominiecki, said. “I got to know him quite well over the five years of my tenure. And he was so supportive of Selby Garden’s vision for the future. And to top it off, he had a tremendous sense of humor, so I will really miss his friendship.”
After his tenure at Selby Gardens, he focused his work on orchid research in Ecuador where he received many honors and awards.
Dr. Dodson was also a world-famous orchidologist discovering many new species for science.
Rominiecki says he died of an illness she could not disclose.
