In Memoriam: Ramsey Yoder

Chris Beytes

March 2 marked the passing of an industry icon: G. Ramsey Yoder, the chairman and leader of Aris Horticulture (formerly Yoder Brothers until the company sold its Yoder mum business and changed names in 2008) passed away from complications related to
pneumonia at the age of 87. Ramsey served as president of the family business starting in 1977, then CEO and Chairman of the Board in 1989. He retired as CEO in 1992, but remained Chairman. Although the pandemic disrupted daily routines, Ramsey stayed engaged and productive until just recently, the company said.

Ramsey, the grandson of company co-founder Menno Yoder, a Mennonite, added a strong education to his farm upbringing, graduating from Cornell with a BS in Floriculture in 1955 and completed the Small Business Owners Management Program at Harvard Business School. He joined Yoder Brothers in 1955 as a mum propagator at the Barberton greenhouses and was promoted to management in 1959 when he transferred to California to develop the Salinas operation, where he remained as General Manager for 10 years before coming back to Barberton to continue his leadership of the company. GT