In Memoriam: Larry Ragle

We recognize and celebrate the life of Lawrence “Larry” Ragle, a beloved figure in the bonsai and suiseki communities, who recently left us peacefully at home in Laguna Beach, CA at the age of 91, with his loving wife Nina by his side.

Larry joined the National Bonsai Foundation (NBF) to contribute to the mission of elevating and expanding the value of bonsai on a global scale. As one of the original board members when the organization was founded, Larry was deeply involved in the bonsai community, with constant partnership and support from Nina. His directorship was an important step to honor his teachers, bonsai legends John Naka and Harry Hirao.

While founding NBF and helping grow the organization, Larry also supported the early development and expansion of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington, DC. He played a pivotal role in planning events that honored bonsai masters like Naka, Hirao, and George Yamaguchi.

“It has been a delight to see the Museum become a reality and watch all the improvements with so many dedicated volunteers,” Larry once said. “It was an honor to have played a small part, along with the rest of the bonsai community and beyond, to help make NBF the quality organization it has become.”

Nina and Larry Ragle.
Photo credit: usnationalbonsai.com

In June 2023, the Ragle family generously donated a commemorative bench in Larry’s honor, which now sits in the courtyard of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.

Felix Laughlin, Chair Emeritus of the National Bonsai Foundation, shared: "I have so many memories of Larry, and Nina as well who was always by his side. We usually chatted via email given their location in California, but they were very active members of the NBF board of directors and came to Washington frequently for meetings at the US National Arboretum. I fondly recall having breakfast meetings with Larry and Nina during their DC visits, in which they filled me in on everything going on in the West Coast bonsai world, and told me about their adventures collecting viewing stones. They were close to bonsai luminary and founding NBF board member Marybel Balendonck, and the three of them were strong and effective advocates for the creation of the John Y. Naka North American Pavilion. The bonsai and viewing stone communities will certainly miss Larry, and he left a lasting legacy in both art forms."

Larry at the 2018 Japan Suiseki Exhibition with his Buffalo stone.
Photo credit: samedge.wordpress.com

Born in Springfield, Missouri in 1932, Larry's family moved to Albany, CA in 1940. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a degree in chemistry and served as a Patrol/Investigator for the City of Berkeley. In 1956, he married Carole Watchers, and they relocated to Costa Mesa, California in 1960, where Larry pursued a career at the Orange County Crime Lab.

It was during this time that he developed a passion for the art of bonsai. He started training his first three bonsai in 1962 – trees that are still alive today and represent vibrant examples of the art form.

Larry married Nina Shire in 1981, and in 1989, he retired as the Director of Forensic Sciences, Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, later writing the book "Crime Scene" in 1995. It was his first book, but not his last. Later, he authored two additional texts on bonsai and suiseki (viewing stones).

Larry deepened his study of bonsai under his sensei and the father of American bonsai, John Naka, in 1966, and later with bonsai master Harry Hirao in 1974. With Harry, he co-founded Kofu Bonsai Kai in 1977. Larry served as president of the Golden State Bonsai Federation, California Bonsai Society, and Kofu Bonsai Kai. Larry, along with others, established the California Shohin Society in 1989. He held memberships in several bonsai organizations, including Nan Pu Bonsai Kai, John Naka’s select club. Along the way, Larry took iconic photographs of many major bonsai figures, especially of Naka and Hirao.

Harry Hirao and Larry Ragle, longtime friends and co-founders of Kofu Kai.
Photo credit: bonsaial.wordpress.com

Larry was an original board member of the National Bonsai Foundation when it was founded in Washington, D.C., and served on its Board of Directors from 1982 until 2020. Jim Hughes, a Chair Emeritus of NBF and former Museum Curator, reflected, "Larry helped establish and maintain a West Coast connection to the National Bonsai Museum and National Bonsai Foundation, ensuring the national scope of both entities."

Larry dedicated himself to promoting the art of bonsai and suiseki on a local, national, and global scale. Together, Larry and Nina founded California Aiseki Kai in 1983, a club focused on suiseki and the traditional values and techniques of Japanese viewing stones. They organized and led many collecting trips for the club in California and surrounding desert areas. Larry and Nina also studied bonsai display with Susumu Sudo in Japan and have displayed some of their masterpiece stones in the Nippon Suiseki Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan. Larry was also chairman of the Golden State Bonsai Federation, which established the collection at the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena.

One of Larry’s suiseki.
Photo credit: bonsainut.com

In 2002, Larry authored text for Awakening the Soul, a book about the national viewing stone collection at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. In a review, Dr. Thomas Elias of the Viewing Stone Association of North America rates the book as “excellent,” and says, “This volume is as pertinent today as it was twenty years ago when it was first published. This book beautifully illustrates and identifies the best examples from this modest but important collection. This is a book to study and learn how to appreciate a great viewing stone.”

Jack Sustic, Chair Emeritus of NBF and former Curator of the museum, reflected, "I've been thinking a lot about Larry, and so much has been said about him and his work for NBF and the art of bonsai. We know his contributions well, such as being a driving force in establishing the viewing stone collection and the Harry Hirao reception room. Personally, he was always kind and friendly, a true gentleman who truly possessed the spirit of bonsai, bonsai-no-kokoro."

Larry was clever, creative, charismatic, and humble. He will be remembered for his charm and wit, perfect timing, and keen skill for public speaking. His legacy in the bonsai community and beyond will be cherished and remembered by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

In Memoriam: Warren Hill

Warren Hill at his one-man show at East Tennessee State University in the late 1990s. Trees (from left to right): American Hornbeam, Bald Cypress and Ginkgo Biloba, also known as Chi Chi Ginkgo.

Warren Hill, a renowned figure in the art of bonsai, recently passed away at his home in Tennessee at the age of 85. His life story is one of passion for bonsai, dedication to his family, and a love for nature.

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1938, Warren was industrious from a young age. At six, he would shine shoes for soldiers and sailors at the U.S. Navy Yard, and at 16, he painted Walt Disney’s apartment at Disneyland prior to the park’s opening. While Warren was painting, Mr. Disney walked in and surprised him. They started a conversation, and Mr. Disney thanked him for doing a good job.

Following high school, Warren served as a radar technician in the U.S. Air Force. After military service, he pursued a career as an electrical engineer with Westinghouse and later Edison International. Meanwhile, he developed a passion for photography, and throughout his life he would often capture landscapes with family and friends.

Warren served as the curator of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum from 1996 to 2001. He had a deep interest in Japanese culture that developed from an early fascination with the natural world, which he inherited from his parents. His Finnish father and Swedish mother, who had a talent for gardening, instilled in him a love for flora and fauna. This background, along with his college studies in engineering and horticulture, laid the foundation for lifelong bonsai endeavors.

Left: Warren works on a black pine of Jack Fried, a former president of the Midwest Bonsai Society. Right: Warren helps a student at a bonsai workshop work on their Shimpaku Juniper. He traveled around the world to style trees at student workshops. 

A transformative moment happened in his twenties, when Warren walked into an exhibition hosted by the California Bonsai Society in 1960. Although bonsai was not part of his upbringing or education, the exhibition immediately captivated him. “I didn’t know what I was looking at, but I knew it was magnificent,” he said. “I had to learn more about these little trees.” This chance encounter marked the beginning of a lifelong journey that would intertwine his personal and professional paths with the art of bonsai.

His passion quickly evolved from an interest to a vocation. By 1974, he was teaching bonsai, offering lectures, demonstrations, and workshops. He immersed himself in the art and philosophy, studying with masters like Saburo Kato, John Naka, and Frank Nagata. Warren later returned to Moorpark College to study agriculture, and by 1974, he was teaching bonsai through lectures, demonstrations, and workshops. He found striking similarities between his Scandinavian heritage and Japanese culture, especially in their reverence for art and nature.

Left: One of Warren Hill’s Satsuki Azalea in Informal upright-bunjin, propagated by cutting.

Right: One of his trident maples in the yose-ue style, propagated by seed.

In 1996, Warren was appointed Curator for the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. “It was an honor to even be asked to be interviewed for the job,” Warren said. “It was a rich position, and I really enjoyed it.” His tenure was marked by fostering relationships with volunteers and nurturing the Museum’s bonsai collections.

Jack Sustic, another former Curator, served as Warren’s assistant. “He was always a teacher and a wealth of knowledge, and I still carry his teachings with me,” he said. “Those teachings helped improve my own bonsai artistry, for which I will always be grateful.”

Warren used his own drawings of different bonsai styles to show students an idea of what the style looks like. This is Chokkan, which has a formal upright trunk. The majestic appearance represents a large, tall tree standing in the mountains or on a vast low-land plain. Usually the tree's outline is in a pyramidal form.

In his position as curator, Warren most appreciated the opportunity to meet and work with the Museum volunteers who help care for the masterpiece collections of bonsai.

“All those nice people loved the art as I did,” he said. “You meet so many talented people like them, and masters like Kato and Naka, who were all special and of exceptional quality. When you know the background of people like them and know how gifted they are, you’re kind of in awe when you’re around them.”

Warren at the California State Convention, holding a workshop for students in Anaheim, California. They are working with olive trees. 

Warren’s personal life also flourished during this time. In 1998, he met Sharon Jeffers Hackett at a Rotary Club meeting in Greeneville, Tennessee. They married in 2000, and after his retirement in 2001, they moved back to Tennessee and established Tree-Haven, a bonsai school that attracted students worldwide. Warren loved teaching, saying, “I like watching the students’ eyes light up when you tell them the answer to a question.”

In recognition of his contributions, the Golden State Bonsai Federation awarded Warren the Circle of Sensei Award in 2013. Throughout his life, he believed that a deep love and passion for nature were essential for success in bonsai. Beyond his teaching, Warren authored numerous articles on bonsai and horticulture, ensuring that his legacy would inspire future generations. He leaves behind a rich heritage of bonsai artistry and a community of students and admirers who continue to honor his work.

Warren is survived by his wife Sharon, daughters Dawn and Lisa, grandchildren, step-children, and other family members. His life and work remain a testament to the spirit and philosophy of bonsai, continuing to inspire students and practitioners of the art form.

More on Warren:

Obituary, June 10, 2024

NBF Museum Curators Blog, March 30, 2021