George H. Manaker, retired longtime chair of Temple University Ambler campus’ department of landscape architecture and horticulture, has died at 87.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, he was instrumental in creating the department’s four-year degree program. From their article:

Dr. Manaker joined the faculty at Temple’s suburban campus in Ambler in 1962 and helped transform the school’s popular two-year horticulture course into a four-year bachelor’s degree program in 1988. He served as the department chair from 1973 until his retirement in 1997 and oversaw its annual plant sale, award-winning entries in the Philadelphia Flower Show, and other events.

A lifelong gardener, he was active with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and American Society for Horticultural Science.

For The Inquirer’s obituary, you can click here. For Manaker’s books on horticulture, you can click here.

Photo courtesy of the family via The Philadelphia Inquirer