John Fantom

1926-2024

In 1971, a red poinsettia growing in one of John Fantom's greenhouses sprouted an irregular leaf cluster. Most people would have simply discarded it, but John saw its potential and soon had developed the "Jingle Bells" variety which became one of America's most popular poinsettias. In addition to the "Jingle Bells" poinsettia, John also patented the Kalanchoe "Pink Carnation."

A Baltimore County resident for most of his life, John Fantom died peacefully November 13, at age 98, with family at his side.

Born in 1926, John graduated early from Loyola High School, accelerating his studies so he could fight in WWII. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in November 1943 at the age of 17 and was such a good student that the Army trained him as a gunnery instructor for the first computerized firing system being installed on the B-29 bombers. According to his daughter Kathleen Shemer, this experience nurtured his gift for teaching others. "Everyone throughout his life—family, friends, employees, colleagues, government officials—benefited from the depth of his knowledge and his ability to communicate with others," she said.

John aspired to be a golf course greenskeeper and after the war applied to Cornell University to study turf management. Shortly before his freshman year began, however, he met his future wife Carolyn and later said, "Suddenly, Cornell seemed a lot less interesting." Instead, he attended and graduated from the University of Maryland's College of Agriculture.

In 1950 he and his partner opened Fantom and Gahs Greenhouses, Inc. His wife Carolyn became the company bookkeeper, and eventually John's two sons joined the business.

His son Bob remembered him as working in the greenhouses seven days a week and loving it. "Dad always said that a person who is really happy doesn't need a hobby," he said.

According to The Baltimore Sun, one of his former employees, Donna Humphreys, said, "He always told us, 'Think of the plant first.' They are like tiny babies, and we are nurturing them."

His nurturing instincts extended to his workers; his son Tom noted that his dad always treated his employees like family.

In the 1970's, John worked with the General Assembly to create the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation and was instrumental in developing new legislation to provide significant tax breaks to greenhouse growers and protections from foreign imports. Recognized as a leader in his field, he served as president of local and statewide organizations and was awarded the 2004 Greenhouse Growers Award by the Maryland Greenhouse Growers Association, whose former president Steve Hershfeld, quoted in The Baltimore Sun the same year, said, "John really cares about plants. He judges his success two ways: by the health and beauty of his flowers and by how often he gets to play golf."

In 2008, he had the idea that the greenhouse property would make an ideal site for Catholic Charities Senior Housing, and that's what stands there today, another example, said Shemer, of the way he merged his entrepreneurial spirit and initiative with his commitment to helping others.

John still played golf at the age of 97 and up until recently was a member of a weekly bridge game at Mercy Ridge Retirement Community, where he moved with his wife Carolyn and continued to live there after she passed away in 2017.

In addition to his beloved wife, Carolyn, John was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas Davis Fantom, Sr. and Alice Elizabeth Fantom, three siblings, Thomas Fantom, Jr.,  Alice Jeanne Fantom, and  Doris Fantom Puente, as well as almost all of his many golf partners. He leaves his children, Robert Fantom, Kathleen Fantom Shemer and Thomas Fantom , four grandchildren, Rebecca Disney, Kimberly Kurtzman, Tiffany Fantom, and Megan Fantom; three great grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

John Fantom's funeral mass is Thursday, November 21, 10:00am, in the Stella Maris Chapel, 2300 Dulaney Valley Road, Timonium, MD. 21093 Visitation is Wednesday, Nov. 20, 4:00-7:00pm at Ruck Funeral Home in Towson. Interment Lorraine Park Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to Loyola Blakefield www.loyolablakefield.org/giving or Passager Books www.passagerbooks.com/donate.