Floriculture extension specialist Ralph Freeman dead at 72

Ralph Freeman of Mattituck, N.Y., passed away April 2, after a 7-year battle with cancer. He was 72.
Freeman worked as a floriculture specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, N.Y., for 36 years. He was named the Long Island Farm Bureau’s Citizen of the Year in 1999 because of his influence on Long Island’s agricultural industry. He served on several boards of directors including the Center for Controlled Environment Agriculture (Rutgers Univ.), Controlled Environment Agriculture (Cornell Univ.), the John G. Seeley Conference (Cornell Univ.) and Chapin Living Waters, which provides irrigation systems to 3rd world countries.
Freeman studied horticulture at the Univ. of Conn., and then studied commercial floriculture and plant physiology, earning his master’s degree from Cornell Univ.
Tax-deductible donations in Ralph Freeman’s honor may be sent to Chapin Living Waters.

Pictured: Ralph Freeman, who worked as a floriculture specialist for Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, N.Y., for 36 years, died April 2.
Photo courtesy of Cornell Univ.