Michael Polychrones, AAF, AIFD, PFCI.

Award-winning designer, floral commentator and business owner Michael Polychrones, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Michael's Flowers in Springfield, Va., passed away Aug. 30, 2007. He was 72.

He opened Michael's Flowers in Springfield in 1963, and his son Christopher Polychrones opened another branch in Woodbridge, Va., in 1990. In 2001, Michael retired and the Springfield shop closed around the same time.

Polychrones won SAF's 1974 Sylvia Cup Design Competition and received the 1988 Tommy Bright Award, which signifies a lifetime commitment to commentating excellence in the floral industry.

He served various roles in his 40-year industry history, including commentator, lecturer, designer, consultant, teacher and columnist.

"He was all-inspiring, professional and organized. He came across impeccably,"
says Jeff Corbin, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, of Radford City Florist in Radford, Va., who took a design class taught by Polychrones in 1981. "Michael was a man of great character," says Lynn Lary McLean, AAF, AIFD, PFCI, TMF, of Lary's Florist, Inc., in Friendswood, Texas. "He had a loving ... heart and always looked for the best in people." 

Polychrones appeared as a principal designer at many international shows, and assisted in decorating the White House during the Nixon, Ford and Carter administrations. Over the course of his career, he also was president of six floral and community associations and a member of Teleflora's Education Specialist team.

He is survived by four children, Pamela Furr and Gregory, Christopher and Beth Polychrones; nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

According to The Washington Post, memorial services were held at 1 p.m. on Sept. 3 at Bristow-Faulkner Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Saluda, Va. Memorial gifts may be made to the National Kidney Fund, 2601 Willard Rd., Suite 103 in Richmond, Va., 23294, or the Michael Polychrones Scholarship Fund, VPFA, PO Box 1150, Tappahannock, Va., 22560.

--Vanessa Machir
vmachir@safnow.org

 

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