Ron Enomoto, who served as interim executive director of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum for more than three years, died October 7 while traveling in Tibet. He was 73.
Enomoto, most recently of Woodland, Ca, owned Enomoto Roses in Half Moon Bay for 40 years with his wife Nancy. They introduced Internet marketing, pesticide-free rose growing, and an energy-saving computerized system to control the greenhouse environment, that was later sold worldwide.
In 1997, after selling the business, he served on a five-member team that performed an assessment of the arboretum. Soon after, he was named interim executive director effective January 1, 1998, initially for an 18-month period that continued until October 2001.
He was a graduate of UC Davis and served on the UC Board of Regents 1989-1990 as an ex-officio member as vice president of the UC Alumni Association.
He leaves his wife, Nancy, who worked in University Relations at UC Santa Cruz; daughters Melinda (Mindy) Connors and husband Bobby, San Jose; Erin Moore and husband Jerry, Atlanta, Ga.; son Mike and wife Cathy, Oakland, and six grandsons.
A memorial service is scheduled at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple, 2751 Louis Road, Palo Alto, Sunday, October 25 at 3 p.m. Interment will be at the Alta Mesa Memorial Park in a private ceremony.
A family obituary was published in the San Jose Mercury News.
