Arboretum mourns scientist who was giant among trees

George Ware put his whole being into his passion and his passion was trees.

He made five journeys to China and three expeditions to the former Soviet Union just to collect seeds.

He developed hearty, disease-resistant elms to replace thousands of North American elms destroyed by Dutch elm disease in the 1960s.

He even continued working after he retired - for more than 10 years - as a researcher for one of his favorite places in the world: the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.

"He just loved what he did," said Gary Watson, head of research at the arboretum. "He loved trees."

Ware died Sunday after a battle with cancer. He was 86.

Peers say his love for trees, in particular elms, will live on in many forms.

"He'll probably be remembered most and longest for the selections of elms he developed and released into the landscape," Watson said.

Those elms, including two that are resistant to Dutch elm disease, are now found throughout the nation.

Ware also had a deep interest in finding species of trees that were resistant to conditions such as low-oxygen soil and pollution so he could breed new ones to live in citylike environments.

"He was a leader in trying to find plants for urban areas based on the characteristics that plants had in nature," Watson said.

Besides developing new trees, Ware, who lived in Batavia, held leadership positions in the International Society of Arboriculture and the Illinois Arborist Association.

He also served as an adjunct professor at four colleges and universities.

At the Morton Arboretum, Ware fueled growth in the research department, which now has a team of 22 scientists and research associates, and oversaw expansion of the arboretum's elm collection, which is the largest in the United States.

"He was incredibly talented and certainly inspirational," said Kunso Kim, head of collections and curator at the arboretum. "He was a mentor to many people here at the arboretum."

Ware won many awards, including the Special Achievement Award from the National Arbor Day Foundation and the L.C. Chadwick Award for Arboricultural Research from the International Society of Arboriculture.

But Kim said Ware's simple desire to educate others about his passion was equally important as his contributions to dendrology.

"It was wonderful listening to him share his knowledge and love for the trees," he said. "He was like a child with pure joy when sharing his knowledge. You wanted to listen to him for hours."

Ware's love for trees began in Oklahoma, where he grew up. He received his degrees from the University of Oklahoma and obtained a Ph.D. in forest ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

In 1968 the tree scientist joined the Morton Arboretum as a dendrologist and later became its research director.

He never left.

"Until he came down with his illness, he had an office and we'd see him every day," Watson said. "It was his passion."

"He is the gigantic tree among the trees in the tree world," Kim said. "A lot of people will miss him and I'm sure a lot of people appreciate his leadership role, dedication, and remarkable commitment to tree improvement."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Funeral services </p>

<p class="News">Visitation and a memorial service will be held for George Ware on Friday, July 9, at United Methodist Church of Batavia, 8N Batavia Ave. Visitation is from 1 to 2:30 p.m. with the memorial service starting at 2:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. </p>