William R. Furtick, Ph.D., 80, died Wednesday, May 16, 2007, after a lengthy illness. His career was fascinating and he was fortunate enough to have made a difference both nationally and internationally.

Born in Salina, Kan., he graduated from Kansas State University and received his Master of Science and Ph.D. from Oregon State University. He was professor of crop science and director of the International Plant Protection Center.

Bill loved teaching and, in his words, he "had the best, most outstanding graduate students from all over the world" and cherished them always. During his tenure, he was president of the Weed Science Society of America, president of the Western Weed Science Society, guest of honor at the eighth annual British Weed Control Conference in Brighton, England; awarded the invitational address and membership in the National Research Council, National Academy of Science and Fellowship. The Association of Western Agricultural Experiment Station Directors awarded the title of Director Emeritus to him in recognition of his leadership, dedication and outstanding service to agricultural research in the Western Region and the United States.

In 1971, the United Nations called upon him to set up an Agricultural Research Center in Taiwan. Later he was director of the Plant Protection Division at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome, Italy; dean of agriculture and human resources at the University of Hawaii; then on to Washington, D.C. with the State Department, periodically living and developing programs in Cairo, Egypt; Amman, Jordan, and Tblisi, Georgia. He worked in or

visited all but five countries in the world.

Bill is survived by his wife, Anne; children, Bill and wife Lydia, Randy, Janet and husband Bill Raschke, Sjanna, and Sheldon; grandchildren Nathan and Bryn Raschke, and Evan and wife Sarah; brother Don and wife Sylvia of Wimberley, Texas; and sister Dorothy and husband Bobb of Corvallis.

A celebration of memory will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 9, at the Congregational Church, 11245 Los Osos Valley Road in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made to the Parkinson's Research Institute of Sunnyvale, Calif., or Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in San Luis Obispo.