PASADENA - Jacob Maarse, the Dutch immigrant whose signature floral designs graced hundreds of social and charity events in Pasadena over four decades, died Wednesday morning at Huntington Hospital. He was 82.
Family members said he died after a short illness.
Since opening his grand Green Street flower shop in 1966, Maarse had become part of the city's social fabric, friends - and customers who became friends - said Wednesday.
"He was special in so many ways, it's a big, big loss," said Alyce Williamson, who worked with Maarse on dozens of fund-raising and social events over the years.
"His creativity, his generosity and his energy were just incredible," Williamson said. "He definitely was a big part of the community, and I think that's probably what was most unique about Jacob Maarse. He was so generous, and philanthropic, so much more than just an exceptional florist."
In a 1973 interview with the Star-News, Maarse recalled arriving alone in New York from Holland in 1952 and finding it "far too big" for someone from Aalsmeer, Holland, then a town of 8,000.
"Our whole family for generations had been born, raised and gone to school within a two-mile square, and everyone was in the business of growing flowers, as was my father," he said.
So when the opportunity came to work for Prebles flower shop in Pasadena, he recalled, he took it and stayed for 16 years before opening his own store.
