Dahlia Legacy Profile
RICHARD “DICK” WILLIAMS
On Sunday, December 11, 2022, members of the Seattle and Snohomish County Dahlia Societies waited anxiously in the large dining room at the Lake Forest Park Bar and Grille. They planned to surprise long-time dahlia man, Dick Williams, to honor him for all his commitment and accomplishment. With more than 50 years under his belt, Dick had earned a reputation as a dedicated grower and hard-working club member. If he’d had any idea what waited for him behind that door, he probably would have stayed home – he didn’t like people to make a fuss over him. Unsuspecting, he and Gloria, his wife of 63 years walked into the room to shouts of “Surprise!” These dahlia friends would finally get the chance to show Dick just how much he meant to all of them.
EARLY YEARS
Dick Williams first started growing dahlias when he went to work for the Great Northern Railway in Everett, Washington in 1959. However, his earliest experiences as a gardener were as a child, in the family vegetable garden – as he says – “We had to eat.” Born in Twisp, Washington in November of 1933, Dick’s father worked as a mail carrier in the Methow River Valley, first from Winthrop to Brewster, and later from Winthrop to Wenatchee. In 1944, they moved to Everett, where Dick’s mother had been hired to work at Boeing. It was there that Bill Bonneywell, a neighbor boy around his age. Bill and Dick would go on to become lifelong friends who shared a passion for dahlias. The children grew up hunting and fishing and they all helped in the family garden. Dick also enjoyed playing all high school sports.
In 1951, he graduated from high school and enlisted in the Army, where he served in Korea until his honorable discharge three years later. Following his military service, best friend Bill helped get him a job working for the Milwaukee Road Railway. Dick took a year off in 1957 to serve in the Merchant Marines, which took him to Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and the Philippines. In 1959, Dick met Gloria Bergan, a girl from Bellingham. Dick and Gloria hit it off right away, marrying in 1960. Also in 1959, Dick went to work for the Great Northern Railroad (GNRR) as a switchman, where he met dahlia hybridizer Tony DeRooy. Tony also worked for GNRR and had helped to plant and maintain the large dahlia bed on the depot grounds. Dick’s work involved working in the gardens, offering him a great chance to learn more about this flower. In 1968 Dick became Yardmaster for the Great Northern until his retirement in 1996.
DAHLIA YEARS
In 1980, Dick joined the Snohomish County Dahlia Society and the Pacific Northwest Dahlia Conference (PNDC). Best friend Bill had now become Dick’s “dahlia guru,” teaching him everything he could about dahlias and dahlia shows. In 1981, Dick and Gloria “hit the PNDC circuit” in 1981 with Bill and Ida Bonneywell. Eventually others joined them, including Larry and Dorothy Manwell, Tom and Twyla Ball and Sumio and Mi Tai. Dick remembers the time spent going to shows with these dahlia friends as “a great 30 years.” During this time, they enjoyed exhibiting dahlias, hybridizing and spending time together and with other dahlia people. In 1989, Dick achieved his certification as an ADS Senior Judge. That same year, he introduced his first ADS cultivar, “Skipley Road” and shortly after that, “Skipley Spot”. When asked what he likes best about dahlias, Dick is quick to answer “Seedlings.” He enjoys the entire process, including the simple act of just stepping outside and looking at the seedlings in his garden. He says he primarily breeds “real dahlias” – cactus types and decoratives.
Dick is methodical and thorough in all phases of gardening. He refers to himself as a ”numbers man”. Birthdays have special meaning for him: He sows seed for new seedlings on March 31, Gloria’s birthday. He does so by broadcasting the seed across the top of fine seedling soil, spread in a tray. He never grows more than 192 seedlings at any one time. In 2022, his dahlia patch had 54 seedlings as well as 220 named varieties. In order to finish digging his tubers by his birthday each year, Dick always starts work on October 15, filling two wheelbarrows each day until November 12, his natal day. He also digs 60 potroots as well as 20 plants at the Bonneywell place.
Dick’s dahlia prefix is “Skipley”, named for the street on which he has lived for decades. His originations bear the names of family members, friends and people in the community. His varieties are known throughout the country and represent some of the top cultivars to come out of the Pacific Northwest. As a grower and hybridizer, Dick has earned his place among the some of best, due to his commitment to quality, self-discipline, consistency and diligence. Dick has introduced over 50 varieties since 1989, and as of 2022, nearly half of these are still being exhibited and are listed in the current ADS Classification Guide. He is regarded by some as a “hybridizer’s hybridizer” due to his high standards and instincts. When Dick started having issues with his knees, it looked like he might retire. In fact, with the introduction of “Skipley’s Swan Song” in 2022, many people thought it might be his last. However, this seedling proved otherwise by picking up another Derrill Hart medal. He quickly followed with “Skipley Prelude” and then in 2023, “Skipley Reboot.” Over the years, Dick has been awarded multiple Derrill Hart and Lynn B. Dudley medals, and in 2014, he was inducted into the Federation of NW Dahlia Growers Hall of Fame. As he began his 90th year, Dick continued to develop his next batch of cultivars for seedling bench and trial garden evaluation.
IMPACT AND LEGACY IN THE DAHLIA WORLD
Dick has contributed greatly to his dahlia clubs and other growers in the Pacific Northwest. For many years, he served as the chairman of judges for the Seattle show and has served as a trustee for both Snohomish County and Seattle. He is generous with his time, sharing potroots, cuttings, seeds and plants with other growers, especially those who with less experience and resources. He is also happy to answer questions and give advice – his door on Skipley Road is always open, with Dick making coffee and Gloria sharing plates full of cookies. Dick has always been a modest and hardworking dahlia man. He is regarded as a mentor and teacher by many other growers, even though he doesn’t see himself that way.
Dick and Gloria have two daughters, Tracey and Lynn. Proving that there is still time for family and other interests, Dick played slow-pitch softball for 13 year after retiring from the railroad, until he was 75, and then he bowled in 2 senior leagues for the next several years. At the time of this writing, Dick says that the life he and Gloria have shared has been ”a great 63 years.”
Interviewed and written by Linda Holmes Cook
December 2022
Hall of Fame – Nomination
Richard Williams
Dick is an outstanding contributor to the dahlia world for his Skipley Dahlia originations. Currently, 13 of his originations are still listed in the 2014 ADS Classification Book. Dick has disseminated 37 introductions beginning with Skipley Road (B-IC-DP) in 1989.
Many of his introductions have been shown and won higher awards since Skipley Road arrived. Dick has also won many Dahlia Show awards for his own entries, including Best in Show at the 2004 American Dahlia Society Show (hosted by the Pacific Northwest Federation of Dahlia Growers) for the cultivar Embrace.
For approximately 20 years, Dick planted and maintained the Everett Train Station Dahlia Garden as a member of the Snohomish County Dahlia Society.
As a dahlia grower for about 40 years, he has also been a Senior Judge for many years in the Federation and has consistently supported and exhibited at Federation Shows entering the highest quality blooms, whether his originations or other cultivars.
Both Dick and Gloria have also supported the Seattle Dahlia Society in many roles. Dick has been Chairman of Judges for the Seattle Show for many years and a Trustee of both the Seattle and the Snohomish County Dahlia Societies.
As a respected dahlia expert, he has routinely contributed educational programs for fellow members of local dahlia societies and offered mentoring for novice growers.
In addition, Dick has won the Derrill Hart Medal (highest 3 average Trial Garden scores of the year) for Skipley Fair Lady, Skipley Spot O’Gold, and Skipley Grande. He has also won the Lynn B. Dudley Medal (highest Seedling Bench scoring) for Skipley Bonanza and Skipley Lois Jean (2012 National Show Seedling Achievement Award scoring 91.56).
We are pleased to nominate Dick Williams to the Federation Hall of Fame.
Originations
| Cultivar | Size | Form | Color | Color Description | Orig | Cnty | Year |
| MARILYN KING | B | SC | DR | WMR- | US | 98 | |
| SKIPLEY ALDO | BB | ID | V | R/L | WMR- | US | 04 |
| SKIPLEY BEN CARR | B | IC | LB | YL/PK | WMR- | US | 21 |
| SKIPLEY BOB | BB | FD | V | YL11/RD22 | WMR- | US | 06 |
| SKIPLEY BONANZA | B | IC | R | RD23 | WMR- | US | 10 |
| SKIPLEY CLAUDIA J | B | IC | FL | OR23/YL11 | WMR- | US | 07 |
| SKIPLEY DOMINO | M | FD | BI | WMR- | US | 17 | |
| SKIPLEY FAIR LADY | WL | PR | WMR- | US | 93 | ||
| SKIPLEY FLUFF | B | LC | LB | WMR- | US | 95 | |
| SKIPLEY FROST | BB | ID | W | WH2 | WMR- | US | 21 |
| SKIPLEY GLORIA K | B | SC | LB | L/W | WMR- | US | 01 |
| SKIPLEY GRANDE | A | SC | LB | DP2/YL18 | WMR- | US | 01 |
| SKIPLEY IDA | BB | IC | PR | WMR- | US | 03 | |
| SKIPLEY IDA BELLA | BB | C | PR | PR24 | WMR- | US | 15 |
| SKIPLEY JOANNE | B | SC | LB | YL9/PK7 | WMR- | US | 09 |
| SKIPLEY LISA | BB | FD | DP | WMR- | US | 01 | |
| SKIPLEY LOIS JEAN | BA | DP | DP14 | WMR- | US | 13 | |
| SKIPLEY MELLO YELLO | B | IC | Y | YL4 | WMR- | US | 11 |
| SKIPLEY MII TOO | BB | FD | DP | WMR- | US | 99 | |
| SKIPLEY MOONGLOW | BA | Y | YL4 | WMR- | US | 01 | |
| SKIPLEY NIGHT | BB | SC | DR | WMR- | US | 90 | |
| SKIPLEY PINK | B | C | L | WMR- | US | 95 | |
| SKIPLEY PRELUDE | B | SC | PK | PK13 | WMR- | US | 22 |
| SKIPLEY ROAD | B | IC | DP | WMR- | US | 89 | |
| SKIPLEY ROAD JAN | BB | FD | L | LV8 | WMR- | US | 20 |
| SKIPLEY SANTA | BB | ID | BI | WMR- | US | 06* | |
| SKIPLEY SARA | BB | SC | DP | DP12 | WMR- | US | 12 |
| SKIPLEY SEA GAL | BB | FD | PK | WMR- | US | *19 | |
| SKIPLEY SELECT | BB | FD | L | WMR- | US | 99* | |
| SKIPLEY SENSATION | B | SC | V | Y/R | WMR- | US | 01 |
| SKIPLEY SHERBET | B | SC | V | WMR- | US | 01* | |
| SKIPLEY SIZZLER | B | IC | Y | WMR- | US | 03 | |
| SKIPLEY SMILES | M | FD | DR | DR12 | WMR- | US | 18 |
| SKIPLEY SMOKIN JOE | M | FD | BI | PR/W | WMR- | US | 18 |
| SKIPLEY SMOOTHY | MB | LB | PK12/WH3 | WMR- | US | 18 | |
| SKIPLEY SNOHO BILL | MB | PR | PR28 | WMR- | US | 20 | |
| SKIPLEY SNOQUEEN | B | IC | W | WH2 | WMR- | US | 18 |
| SKIPLEY SONG | BB | LC | R | WMR- | US | 94 | |
| SKIPLEY SPLISH SPLASH | BA | DB | RD24/WH2 | WMR- | US | 19 | |
| SKIPLEY SPOT | BB | FD | BI | RD24/WH3 | WMR- | US | 89 |
| SKIPLEY SPOT OF GOLD | M | FD | DP | DP24 | WMR- | US | 01 |
| SKIPLEY SPYDER | BB | LC | R | WMR- | US | 03 | |
| SKIPLEY STRIPE | B | SC | V | W/R | WMR- | US | 99 |
| SKIPLEY SUMMERTIME | B | C | LB | LV10/YL11 | WMR- | US | 08 |
| SKIPLEY SUNRISE | B | LC | PK | WMR- | US | 02 | |
| SKIPLEY SUNSET | B | LC | DB | Y/R | WMR- | US | 91 |
| SKIPLEY SWAN SONG | M | FD | W | WH2 | WMR- | US | 22 |
| SKIPLEY SWINGTIME | B | ID | BI | RD24/WH1 | WMR- | US | 07 |
| SKIPLEY T L | BB | FD | BI | WMR- | US | 93 | |
| SKIPLEY TNT BALL | BA | R | RD24 | WMR- | US | 19 | |
| SKIPLEY TWYLA | B | IC | V | Y/R | WMR- | US | 01 |
| SKIPLEY VALENTINE | A | C | R | WMR- | US | 93 | |
| SKIPLEY WANDA | B | FD | W | WMR- | US | 00 |
