Stanley Rehder Papers

George Stanley Rehder was born in Wilmington, North Carolina on February 11, 1922, the son of Jessie Stewart Rehder and Carl Frederick William Rehder. Known to most as Stanley, he graduated from New Hanover County High School in 1939 and attended North Carolina State College (now, University). At NC State, Rehder was a member of the ROTC program before being called to duty in the army during World War II. Rehder attended Officer Candidate School, trained as an artilleryman, and became a lieutenant for the 66th Infantry Division mortar crew. On Christmas Eve in 1944, Rehder was aboard the S.S. Leopoldville when it was attacked by a German submarine in the English Channel. Nearly 800 men died that night, but Rehder survived the sinking by departing the ship on a lifeboat with as many men he could convince to come with him. Later during the war, he earned a Bronze Star as a result of his involvement in the march into Germany with the 66th division.

After his service, Rehder returned to NC State and completed a degree in horticulture, graduating in 1947. He then joined his family's floral business in Wilmington, before taking over operations of the wholesale arm known as Rehder's Greenhouses. Additionally, Rehder fostered a lifelong interest in the conservation and preservation of carnivorous plants including the Venus Flytrap. He spent more than twenty years transplanting and cultivating insectivorous species on a site in Wilmington that is now known as "The Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden." He also lobbied state legislators and officials to protect these plants and advocated for tougher penalties againt flytrap poachers.

In 1948, Rehder married Louise Davis of Wilmington and the couple had two children.

Stanley Rehder died on October 1, 2012 and is buried in Oakdale Cemetery.