1941-2024

Peter Orum, 82, died on Thursday, October 17, at his home in St. Charles, Illinois, after a four-month battle with a complex and rare form of lymphoma. Peter entered into hospice care on September 23rd and was surrounded by family and friends from that time until his passing.

Peter was born on December 4, 1941, in Søborg, a suburb of Copenhagen, Denmark. He spent his early days doing chores in his father’s small nursery, working for a neighboring farm, and bicycling around northern Denmark with his favorite cousins. He was a strong academic student in his eight years of compulsory formal education in Denmark, but he also enjoyed the challenge of woodworking and other practical trade skills which served him well throughout his life, especially in finding solutions to the challenges of growing plants in containers.

Following grade eight, Peter entered a Horticulture Apprenticeship program at the Spejlborg Nursery in Brønderslev, Denmark. The nursery was an hour’s bicycle ride from home, “depending on the direction of the wind”.  He went on to study at Vilvorde Horticulture School, which at that time was west of Copenhagen.

In 1961, he enlisted in the Danish Army and worked to become a Lieutenant in one of the Engineer regiments; he was also a military driving instructor. His appreciation of military vehicles later led him to assemble a collection of vintage military vehicles, which he enjoyed driving in local parades and on tours of the nursery properties. As an Army Engineer, he was assigned to build the famous British “Bailey” bridges in Denmark; he used that experience to erect several bridges of this type on the Midwest properties in the United States many years later.

In 1965, Peter boarded a ship and sailed across the rugged North Atlantic Ocean to the United States to gain work experience at the D. Hill Nursery in Dundee, Illinois; there he honed his growing and construction skills. He soon met his future wife, Irma, and on February 4, 1967, Peter married Irma Bodil Hertzmann at St. James Episcopal Church in West Dundee, Illinois. They celebrated 52 years of marriage together. As a team, they founded and built the Midwest Companies in the horticulture industry, including Midwest Groundcovers LLC and Midwest Trading Inc. 

As the companies grew, so did Peter’s involvement in community, civic, cultural, and professional organizations, both local and international. He served in leadership roles for horticultural organizations, including the Illinois Green Industry Association (now joined with the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association), the American Nursery & Landscape Association (now AmericanHort), the International Plant Propagators Society, and the Horticultural Research Institute, among others. Awards, recognition, and commendations from these groups in his honor are numerous.  He continued to foster collaborative horticulture relations between Denmark and the United States through his leadership and commitment to APlant with the Norðîc® brand.  Peter truly was an icon in the nursery industry both at home and abroad.

Peter held dual citizenship in Denmark and the United States, and celebrated both countries and cultures. He was instrumental in the Rebild Society, which holds an annual Fourth of July celebration in Denmark; was a board member of the Danish American Language Foundation; co-founder of the Scandinavian Club; and was also a long-time supporter and contributor to the Danish Home in Chicago, and the Museum of Danish America in Iowa. Peter was named Major for day in Aalborg in 1999 and was also an honorary member of the Danish American Club in Aalborg. He was for many years the President of the Majors Club in Aalborg. On July 3. Of 2024 The Danish American Club Peter a special recognition as they named an award “The Peter Oerum Life Time Achievement Award” and Peter of course became its first recipient.  

He was an esteemed and active community member, serving on numerous committees over the decades.  Since 1965, he has been a devout member of St. James Episcopal Church in West Dundee, where he contributed through vestry service, finance leadership, buildings and grounds committee leadership, and served as usher and greeter most Sundays when he was in town.

He was a voracious reader, an outstanding student of history and geography, and was highly informed about, and engaged in, politics.  He was a lifelong Republican and tireless supporter of Immigration Reform; he visited Washington DC often to meet with government representatives to campaign for small business, agriculture, and most especially immigration reform countless times.

During the pandemic, Peter determined that he would write his memoirs and in 2022, he published, People, Plants & Politics, which can be obtained here:  https://www.midwestgroundcovers.com/blog/people-plants-and-politics/ 

When asked once how he got everything done, and still had time for more meetings and conferences and board memberships, family and business, Peter answered, “I do not watch television.”

He was a respected employer who expected the best efforts and continuous growth of his employees — and always found ways to appreciate and celebrate their work and the company’s milestones.  His wisdom was vast, and he was a natural teacher, and was always coaching and training those around him on anything from plant propagation to how to speak and communicate effectively, in order to be understood.

Peter was a beloved husband, parent, grandfather and uncle. He is survived by his daughter, Christa (Craig) Orum-Keller, and grandchildren Christian Keller and Lydia Orum-Keller; his sister, Elisabeth Dam; niece Karen Dam and nephew Anders Dam. He was preceded in death by his parents Lydia & Palle Ørum; son, Stig Peter Orum; and wife, Irma Bodil Orum.