Ancile Gloudon, who had love affair with orchids, dies
Published:Tuesday | May 3, 2022 | 12:10 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Ancile Gloudon, the orchid enthusiast who immersed himself in botanical studies and travelled the hills and valleys while cataloguing plants in his pastime, has died.
Serving as secretary, vice president, and later president of the Jamaica Orchid Society, Gloudon reportedly discovered at least nine species native to the island which he documented in a series of books titled Orchids of Jamaica.
The late husband of well-known Jamaican broadcaster and playwright Barbara Gloudon, Ancile passed away at hospital on Saturday aged 89.
He had been reported to have been suffering with reduced oxygen levels.
Gloudon is survived by his 87-year-old wife, daughters Lisa and Anya, son Jason, and two grandchildren.
Anya Gloudon-Nelson, his ‘wash-belly’, or youngest child, recalls her father as “the ultimate daddy for everybody”.
A Trinidad and Tobago native, Gloudon travelled to Jamaica in the 1950s on a scholarship to study food chemistry at The University of the West Indies, Mona, but his aspirations of becoming a medical doctor were derailed because he had failed an examination.
Gloudon later migrated permanently after being unable to find employment upon his return to Trinidad, opting to work as a chemistry teacher at Wolmer’s Boys’ School in Kingston.
He later firmly established himself in food technology and aided in the development of the extraction of milk from coconuts for cream and was involved in the production of breadfruit flour and banana chips.
But his true passion was botany, which inspired his weekend expeditions or orchid hunts.
“Every Saturday he was in the bush somewhere in the middle of nowhere. I guarantee that any point in the island that he would drive, somebody would hail him and say, ‘See the man with the flowers there,’” Anya told The Gleaner.
He was also a devout Seventh-day Adventist and member of Andrews Memorial Church, where he served as pianist for more than a decade. He was also praised for his mentorship to many.
Vermont Murray, a long-time friend and church elder who knew Gloudon for more than 30 years, described him as a father figure and motivator.
Despite his wife’s Anglican faith, Anya said that the concept of being ‘unequally yoked’ never applied to the Gloudons’ 62-year marriage. She also said he was never threatened by her success and popularity.
Though saddened by her father’s death, Anya said “he lived a happy life” with joy in his heart.
Oscar Derby, president of the Jamaica Orchid Society, hailed Gloudon as “one of the bedrocks” of the organisation, serving for 20 years on the executive committee – 13 as secretary and seven as president.
“His contribution to the body of knowledge on Jamaican orchids forms part of an amazing legacy to Jamaica … ,” said Derby.
“We will miss his charm and brilliance and the comfort he made us feel in his presence. .... Rest in peace among the heavenly blooms, Ancile,” he added.