Jesse Campbell, owner of greenhouse in Dilworth, killed in his SC home

Jesse Campbell, 64, the owner of Campbell’s Greenhouses in Dilworth – who was known for hugging longtime customers and resurrecting ailing orchids – was shot and killed at his house near Lake Wylie, S.C.

Campbell’s body was found early Wednesday on the kitchen floor of his house, at 9634 Pine Moss Lane, on a peninsula in an upscale area. No one has been arrested in his killing, and police have not released details about a potential suspect or a motive. Sheriff Bruce Bryant said the homicide – York County’s first of the year – was not considered a random act of violence.

Greenhouse employee Henry Koehler told officers he last spoke with Campbell by phone about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Neighbors told The (Rock Hill) Herald they heard a gunshot Tuesday night. Koehler said that his boss never came to work Wednesday and that he tried to call Campbell several times that day, an incident report states. Koehler called Campbell’s doctor and found out he had missed an appointment Wednesday.

“Koehler then came to the residence and could see Mr. Campbell lying in the floor unresponsive,” the report states. Koehler called police, who entered the house and found Campbell’s body.

Campbell’s customers and loved ones were trying Thursday to figure out how a peaceful nursery owner could come to such a violent end.

Campbell had been a biology teacher at Myers Park High, but his classroom gave hints about his real passion, said Katie Cannon, one of his students who became an employee at the nursery.

“His classroom was incredible, because it was filled with plants,” said Cannon, 51, who graduated in 1982. “You went in there for biology class, and it was like you were in a forest. You were surrounded by rhododendrons and orchids.”

Cannon kept in contact with her teacher after she graduated. She said Campbell, who quit teaching to start the greenhouse behind Mr. K’s restaurant on McDonald Avenue, helped her cope with her mother’s death a decade later.

“My parents died fairly young, and Jesse took over the job of being my father and my brother,” she said. “He basically made me come work for him in the greenhouse. He really reinstilled a love of plants in me.”

Cannon went to college to study horticulture, and she ultimately opened her own landscaping business, which took her to Roanoke, Va. But she always kept in touch with Campbell. She chided him for working so many hours at the nursery after two cancer scares and a heart attack. During their phone calls, she knew he downplayed how much time he spent working.

When the police went to Campbell’s house Wednesday, an officer could see the man on the floor and a large dog inside, the report states.

All the doors, except the front, were deadbolted. “The front door was only secured by the bottom lock,” the report states.

Andrew Dys and John Marks of The (Rock Hill) Herald contributed.

This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Jesse Campbell, owner of greenhouse in Dilworth, killed in his SC home."