Graham Williamson Solved

[Terry S.]

Readers of the Forum will be sad to learn of the passing of one of the great South African succulent plant workers. He wrote many scientific papers describing new species but is probably best known for his magnificent book on the Richtersveld. We were privileged to spend a few days with him in the Richtersveld in 1995 when we were immensely impressed by his knowledge of all things connected with the area, but the lasting memory was the white knuckle ride in his Landie over mud roads after a sudden downpour. The following has been sent out by his family:

We are sad to share the news of the passing away of Dr Graham Williamson, husband of Francoise and father of Anna-Lise, Mags, Joanne and Carolyn. Graham was a dentist, an artist, a photographer, a botanist, a naturalist, an explorer and a collector of many things, with a passion for nature and adventure. Graham was born in Harare (Salisbury) in Zimbabwe in 1932, and collected his first succulent at the age of six. He was a professional dentist for over thirty years, but also spent a lifetime travelling, collecting, photographing and documenting nature in southern and central Africa. He published extensively, and also wrote three major books on plants and the environment, the latest of which he co-authored with Francoise. He collected and illustrated over 450 plant species, and described at least 60 new plant species and subspecies in 23 genera. Both he and Francoise have been commemorated in the naming of a variety of succulent plants and several indigenous orchids. Most of all, he was a wonderful husband to Francoise, who shared all of his adventures with enthusiasm. He was an inspiring father who passed on his discipline, integrity, humour and passion for life to his four daughters. Graham passed away on the 12 October, peacefully and at home, surrounded by his family. He will be sadly missed.

[topsy]

Thank you Terry for passing on this information, but how sad, such a lovely man, such an enthusiast for nature. We were lucky to have him as a speaker at two of the BCSS Conventions.

He is irreplaceable.

Suzanne

[ralphrmartin]

I'm sorry to hear this. I went on a wonderful trip of South Africa and Namibia with him, his wife, and others - our only regret was that at the last minute our permit to visit the Sperrgebiet was cancelled. We saw a huge range of different plants, in different conditions, and Graham's knowledge was clearly extensive, not only of the plants but also their distributions, and his enthusiasm was obvious.