Tony Bright
Faculty colleague
I met Harry on his bicycle on 12th street on my way to my first day at Mudd. He remembered who I was, remembered where I came from, remembered I had two young daughters, asked about the weather in London, asked how Manchester United were doing, told me how he had just been pulled up by the police for straying on his bicycle into the center of 12th street (this at a time when 12th street was absolutely devoid of traffic) and finished by asking me if I’d like to go for a swim at lunchtime. I felt as though I was engaging in the casual conversation of two friends who had seen each other every day for the past ten years. Naturally the recollection of the warmth of that meeting on my first day at Mudd deeply colored my subsequent friendship with Harry. He has always been to me Chaucer’s “very perfect gentle knight”, lover of “chivalry, truth, honor, freedom and courtesy”. I mourn his passing and extend my deepest sympathy to his family
Tony Bright
Clive Dym
Friend Colleague
I CAME TO KNOW HARRY EDWIN WILLIAMS, JR., WHEN I CAME TO HARVEY MUDD IN 1991. HE AND I SHARED A BOND FOR APPLIED MECHANICS AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS. WHILE WE OFTEN STARTED FROM DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINTS AND TOOK DIFFERENT PATHS, WE ENJOYED ARRIVING AT THE SAME ENDPOINTS TOGETHER.
IN OUR JOINT WORK HARRY ALWAYS STARTED FROM THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM. AT TIMES THIS COULD BE INFURIATING, AS HE WOULD NOT TAKE SHORTCUTS, NOR WOULD HE SIMPLY ACCEPT THE PUBLISHED WORK OF OTHERS, NO MATTER HOW WELL KNOWN THEY WERE. HARRY APPROACHED EVERY PROBLEM FROM FIRST PRINCIPLES, PERIOD.
BUT MY RELATIONSHIP WITH HARRY WAS MUCH MORE THAN ABOUT WORK. INDEED, I CAME TO KNOW HIM AS A MAN WHO FRAMED HIS LIFE THROUGH THE THINGS THAT MATTERED MOST: FAMILY, FAITH AND FRIENDS.
HAVE ANY OF US EVER KNOWN SUCH A DEVOTED AND DOTING FATHER AND GRANDFATHER? DID WE NOT KNOW WHERE HARRY WOULD BE WHEN IT WAS TIME FOR MASS OR HOLIDAY CELEBRATIONS? AND DURING MY ALL-TOO-FREQUENT SOJOURNS AT POMONA VALLEY HOSPITAL AND CASA COLINA REHAB, HARRY CALLED JOAN OFTEN TO STAY ABREAST OF MY CONDITION, AND VISITED QUITE REGULARLY SO HE COULD SEE FOR HIMSELF.
FINALLY, HARRY WAS QUIET AND UNASSUMING. HE MIGHT EXPECT A LOT FROM HIS STUDENTS, BUT HE ASKED FOR NOTHING FOR HIMSELF. HE JUST WANTED TO WORK ON MECHANICS PROBLEMS THAT INTERESTED HIM, AND TO ATTEND TO HIS FAMILY, HIS FAITH AND HIS FRIENDS — AND, OF COURSE, FREESTYLE!
HARRY WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND PASSED AWAY WHILE JOAN AND I WERE IN ITALY. I STILL CANNOT GET USED TO THE FACT THAT I CAN NO LONGER TALK WITH HARRY. I MAY NEVER GET USED TO THAT.
Qimin yang
Colleague
Harry always says hi and smiles. Quite often in the past, I found him enjoying a nice and relaxed sitting next to the Scripps Denison library, sometimes with his swimming buddy. Now every time I walk past that corner of the small garden, I feel he is just sitting there resting in peace. He will be mostly missed.