Richard Willmott, an electrical engineer and mathematician, died of gastric cancer Aug. 2, 2012. He was 82.

Born in China in 1930 to missionary-teacher parents, Willmott left in 1943 during the war with Japan. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Swarthmore in 1952, and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Princeton in 1954. He then went to Canada, his father’s homeland, and worked for Canadian Marconi as a radio engineer.

In 1960, Willmott returned to mathematics and went to the University of British Columbia, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1965. Over the next three decades he did research and taught mathematics at University College in London, Montreal University, University of Zambia in Africa, University of Essex in England, and lastly as an associate professor of mathematics at Queen’s University in Ontario.

Reflecting an active life, Willmott climbed mountains, built a small two-seater airplane, and flew from Ontario to the Pacific Coast, among other interests. Following his parents’ path, he opposed war, racism, and social inequality.

He is survived by Jill, his wife of 51 years, and their three children.

Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA. 

Graduate Class of 1954