David Douglas Francis Williams

October 16, 2019

David Douglas Francis Williams was born May 13, 1930, the third of 5 children. He grew up in Bushey, Watford, north of London. The war years were hard with austerity and starvation rations, and his father being gone most of the time. He was a good student, but his teachers found him challenging. He loved to ride his bike. After graduation he attended Reading University and earned a degree in horticulture. He met the love of his life in Cambridge, one Elsa Hermansen, a Norwegian girl from Bergen, who was on a cycling tour with a close friend. She spoke no English, but he quickly learned Norwegian and went to Bergen to propose! After their marriage in Bergen (1952) he worked his way to Canada on a ship and found a job in Morden, Manitoba on a fruit breeding research farm. Elsa followed after and three years later they had three children: Harry, Wendy, and Elin (Nutie). They then drove to Madison, Wisconsin, where he spent the next five years earning his doctorate as a plant breeder, his project being in green beans. Meanwhile, two more children arrived: Alan (Woofie) and Elsa Marie (Nikki). Upon graduation he packed them all up and left for England to visit his family, and then on to Bergen, where he worked on the docks. Although he had a job lined up in British Columbia, he was offered a position as Superintendent of a new experiment station in Kula, Maui (Hawaii) so he moved his burgeoning family across the world (January 1962) to Olinda and spent the next six years developing the experiment station and doing work for the farmers of Maui. Kristin Leilani, the 6th and last child was born at this time (1964). Perhaps the most memorable contribution during this time was his introduction of Protea to the island, which continues to be a viable crop for the flower industry. (Protea came from South Africa.) When he was ready to move on in his career, he got a job in Christ Church, New Zealand and was all ready to go when he was offered a position at PRI (Pineapple Research Institute) on Oahu. For the next six years he worked for PRI in Waipio with a home in Wahiawa. He quickly was promoted to Director and ultimately is credited with the development of the Gold Pineapple (which comes from Costa Rica these days). The breeding program was completed on Maui at Maui Pineapple Company, where they lived until retirement in the mid 90's. Meanwhile, Harry, Wendy, Nikki, and Kristin had moved to the "mainland" (Fort Collins, CO), and the pull of grandchildren was enough to uproot them from a beautiful home with many dear friends. For twenty-five years, until his death on October 16, 2019, he lived with his precious wife at 1118 W Mountain Ave and kept active as an avid gardener and all around handy man. Dave was a man of action, to whom no project was too daunting. With persistence and hard work he always saw his jobs to completion. Elsa passed away in February of 2017 and without her he slowly declined. We will sorely miss him, foibles and all, but we are so thankful that he has completed his race and is at peace. He was loved by many. He is survived by his six children, 14 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren (with one more on the way). All glory to God.