Rowe died in March at 91, but not before he helped plan the garden that now bears his name

By Sam Richards

Staff writer

Tuesday, June 17 (9:30 a.m.): One recent day on her usual walk, Kathleen Epperson came upon something unexpected along Terra Granada Drive, perhaps a half mile from her Tice Creek Drive manor, near the “Entry 8” sign on Terra Granada. It was a plaque honoring Eldon Rowe, a longtime high school history teacher, expert gardener and 10-year Mutual 70 board member and president. The plaque marks “Eldon Rowe’s Garden.”

Rowe, who died March 25 at 91, and his husband Andy Okumoto were good friends with Epperson. She said Rowe richly deserves this horticultural honor.

“It was his openness, his caring about other people, and his Mutual,” Epperson said. “His main energy went to others.”

Herma Lichetenstein, current president of the Mutual 70 board, said Rowe got things done in a quiet way, with as little fanfare as possible. “He was interested in making his community better,” she said.

Eldon Rowe’s Garden had been in the planning stages for a while, and Rowe had a role in its planning and design. He favored native drought-tolerant plants, as well as milkweed and other species to which butterflies, bees and other pollinators were drawn. Such species dominate this garden.

Those pollinator-friendly plants, she said, are doing their job. “Every time I go up there, it’s literally abuzz” with the sound of bees, Lichtenstein said.

“He was very excited about the idea of this garden, and he could see it from his home, which made him happy,” she added.

Vincent Aitro was good friends with Rowe for 60 years: “He was my first neighbor when I bought my first home in Oakland, in Rockridge,” Aitro said. Both he and Rowe eventually migrated to Rossmoor, Rowe in 2004 with Andy Okumoto, who died in May 2024 at 91.

Rowe spent 35 years teaching history, economics and ornamental horticulture in Castro Valley high schools. “I run into his former students now and then, and they remember him as a great teacher,” Aitro said.

In Rossmoor, Rowe got involved not only with Mutual 70, but with the Trails Club, Democrats of Rossmoor, the Rossmoor Gay Men’s Club, the UC Berkeley Alumni Club and, of course, the Garden Club. Aitro said Rowe grew orchids, among many other types of plants, some of them propagated in a proper greenhouse he owned.

“He was always interested in gardening, and he shared his tomatoes, which were always the best,” Aitro said.