Obituaries

Recent Obituaries
In Memoriam Archive

Douglas H. Williams ’63

Douglas H. Williams ’63, May 19, 1999, in Woodside, California, of liver cancer. He received a BA in psychology in 1964 from California State University in Sacramento, and a master’s degree in psychology in 1967 and PhD in experimental psychology in 1971 from Michigan State University. In 1973, he worked for a scientific library in Port Ord, California. He and his wife, Carol Simpson, began their own business in 1976, testing pilots for commercial airlines and for NASA. In 1993, he was in a serious helicopter crash and spent a year in rehabilitation, learning again how to walk. He eventually returned to flying helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft, and NASA simulators. Because he enjoyed fencing while at Reed, he founded the Douglas Williams fencing tournament and established a need-based scholarship that is given to the top three tournament placers who are receiving a grant from the college. The first tournament was held in November 1998 and is expected to be an annual event. He is survived by his wife.

Appeared in Reed magazine: November 1999

comments powered by Disqus