May A. Moir
May Arstad Moir was an American floral designer, gardener, horticulturist, orchid breeder, writer, and botanical collector in Hawaii. She was awarded the title of one of the "Living Treasures of Hawai'i". She was also known as May Arstad Neal, and May Arstad Neal Moir.
Life and career
May Margaret Arstad was born on December 4, 1907, at Kap'iolani Maternity Home in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, and she was raised in Kaimuki. She graduated from Punahou School.In 1928, she married Charles Micajah Neal Jr., and together they had a daughter. She briefly worked with Charles in real estate. Her first husband died in 1949, and a year later she re-married her friend William Whitmore Goodale Moir.
Moir and her husband William were known for their extensive gardens at their Dowsett Highlands home in Honolulu, which is registered with the Smithsonian Institute.
She was the namesake of some 6 or more orchid species, of which was a Dendrobium named D. "May Neal, and a Miltonia named Miltonia May Moir, both bred and named by her second husband. In the 1980s she was a volunteer in the gardens at Chinese Court in the Honolulu Academy of Arts. In 1984, Moir was featured on episode 325 of Spectrum Hawai‘i, a television show on PBS Hawai‘i. She was named in 1985 as one of the "Living Treasures of Hawai'i" by the Buddhist temple Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii.