Marika Irvine RIP

[scott]

It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Marika Irvine in Gothenburg last Friday. After a normal work day she felt a little odd and went for a walk, collapsed and died from a suspected heart attack. Many of you who have visited Gothenburg Botanic Garden over the years will have known her and her straightforward, no nonsense approach to the world, her passion for plants and for the garden as a place and as an organisation. Many more worldwide will know her through her work with Gothenburg's magnificent Dionysia collection which she cared for with such dedication over many years. I cannot claim to have known her well but I admired her passion, dedication and skills and feel thankful for the brief time spent in her company. She willingly shared her skills and experience with anyone who wished to grow Dionysia to her exceptionally high standards, expanded our knowledge of the Genus through exploration in the wild and made a massive contribution to the success of the Gothenburg Botanic Garden as a whole.
She will be much missed by her family, friends and colleagues, as well as the wider horticultural world, and our thoughts go out to them at this difficult time.

[Maggi Young]

Thank you for your post, Scott. 
Marika was famous for her tremendous work with the extensive and remarkable Dionysia collection of the Göteborg Botanic Garden and was equally well known for her kindness and generosity in sharing her extensive knowledge with visitors to the botanic gardens. The news of her sudden and far-too-early passing was a real shock to us all and leaves a huge gap in the knowledge and experience of these wonderful plants.

Robert Rolfe has written: "Marika  was hugely talented, immensely knowledgeable, always engaging and with a keen intellect. Visitors invited behind the scenes in late winter were treated to an astonishing display of the genus, curated to the very highest of standards. While the collection’s origins date back to the time of Per Wendelbo, it has been greatly expanded since then, in essence energised by the landmark 1998 Swedish/Latvian/Iranian Expedition (SLIZE) and subsequent visits to Iran, some involving Marika. "

Only last year Marika was awarded the prestigious The Kath Dryden Award.  In the photo she is receiving the award for her meritorious work in promoting knowledge and understanding of cultivation and new plant introductions to alpine plant from Ray Drew, representing the Alpine Garden Society.

 Photo from the GBG website