John Edward Bleck
John Edward Bleck passed away peacefully at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California on April 3, 2025, just three weeks before his 92nd birthday. John was born on April 21, 1933 in Hammond, Indiana and was raised in Lansing, Illinois. He graduated from Thornton Fractional Township High School in Calumet City, Illinois and completed two years at the University of Illinois before enlisting in the U.S. Navy as a Radarman . After an honorable discharge from the Navy, John returned to the University of Illinois, completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Floriculture in 1957. In 1958, he moved to California where he worked for eight years at the University of California Los Angeles Botanic Garden (now the UCLA Mathias Botanic Garden), while taking graduate degree courses in marine biology. In 1966, John worked as a Biologist Diver for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service followed by six years as Curator of the UCLA Fish Collection. In October 1969, John married Mary Bellerue with whom he shared enthusiasm for succulent plants around the world. Together, in 1973, they purchased the famous succulent nursery, Abbey Gardens, moving the nursery from Reseda, California to Carpinteria, California. John and Mary sold Abbey Gardens in 1978 and divorced a year later. In 1979, John became manager of UCSB’s Research Greenhouses where he served until his retirement in 1992. After retirement, John remained active with numerous plants societies, gardening, and travel.
John was a distinguished Santa Barbara “plantsman” known for his vast plant knowledge and joy in sharing his knowledge with others. John traveled to many places around the world to observe and photograph the plants that he loved. He was a past president of the Sunset Succulent Society in Santa Monica, California, a past president of the Santa Barbara County Horticultural Society, which awarded their highest honor, the Bouque of the Year Award, to John in 1989. He was a member of the Santa Barbara Orchid and Bonsai societies and a founding member and board of director of the Santa Barbara Cactus and Succulent Society, an affiliate of the national organization, the Cactus and Succulent Society of America (CSSA) to which John also served as a member of the board of directors. In 2017, John was honored by the CSSA with their Friend of the Society award at their biennial convention in Tempe, Arizona. John judged plants in many CSSA Shows and two of their named awards for aloe plants carry his name. John was among the first to breed small Aloe species with the intention of popularizing the plants as flowering window-shelf plants. Numerous ‘John Bleck’ Aloe hybrids became internationally known and used by other horticulturalists to hybridize aloe plants He also worked diligently to co-author the section on the Aizoaceae (Iceplant family) for the “Jepson Manual, Higher Plants of California” and the current University of California digital Jepson eFlora recognizes him as co-author for the current treatment of this plant family. John maintained an amazing botanical library and learned how to bind damaged books and combine journals into book form.
For many years, John maintained his pilot’s license and piloted or copiloted flights to areas of plant interest that were otherwise difficult to reach, such as the islands off Baja California. John was also a lifelong scuba diver who dove with friends throughout the world. He was a competitive Master Swimmer, still swimming laps in the pool into his 90th year. He was a regular volunteer to the Mary Jane McCord Planned Parenthood Book Sale in Santa Barbara. The Planned Parenthood newsletter featured a volunteer profile of John just one week before he passed.
John is survived by nieces and nephews: Cindy (Paul) Brown, Chuck Blair, Nancy Frankenbach, John Blair, and Jill Blair and their children and grandchildren. John is preceded in death by his sisters Joann Gabbard and Janet Blair and his parents Gertrude and Theodore Bleck.
There will be a memorial celebration of John’s life at his home and garden on April 17. In leu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to Ganna Walska Lotusland Botanic Garden, Santa Barbara Cactus and Succulent Society, and/or the Mary Jane McCord Planned Parenthood Book Sale.
