Our dear, dear friend Dr. Dave Willis passed away yesterday. After battling cancer and surviving with a great prognosis, he was ice fishing with his grandson Ryder yesterday and had a heart event. I don't know all the details, but he ended up on the operating table around 6:00 last night in Sioux Falls and didn't make it.
Please pray for his wife, Susie, their children, grandson and the entire SDSU family.
Not cool. Praying for his entire family. :-(
He is off to the next great adventure!
I am heartbroken with the news of Dr. Dave's passing.
We have been close friends sharing support and experience traveling down that rocky road called cancer.
He was one special guy and I will miss him.
Condolences and prayers for his family and friends, from the Glazeners.
devastating.
I'm grateful that I saw him at Bruce's house in September! He looked so happy and healthy!
devastating.
I'm grateful that I saw him at Bruce's house in September! He looked so happy and healthy!
Echo this. Before that weekend, I'd never had a chance to sit down and talk with Dr. Willis face to face. Glad I had that opportunity. For what it's worth, sounds like he went out doing what he loved. RIP Dr. Willis. Prayers for the Willis family.
Just stunned.Thoughts and prayers to the Willis Family. Rest in Peace Dr Dave.
Just feeling sad. That's all I can say.
I'm sorry, Susie.
Sometimes the kindest and gentlest souls get whisked away...
So sorry to hear this. My condolences to the family.
Sorry to hear this news.
Condolences to Dave's family.
He will be missed.
What crushingly bad news.
Never had the opportunity to meet Dave, it was one of the things I was really looking forward to at the next Pond Con. He will truly be missed.
Wow, I am saddened and stunned.
Prayers sent out to the Willis family.
Very hard for me right now after the battles we won !!!!!
I will say this Dave and I had many conversations and emails about life and death and helping people along the path , and more importantly how to think about them and what it all means. Out of that we came to a conclusion 'Life is to be lived one day at a time - seize the day" !!!!! Dave did that better than anyone I know.
I am sad to hear this news. Prayers for the family and friends of the Willis family.
My gosh, what a class act. Just so sad...
Go easy, Dave.
You were a model for all of us. One of the good ones...
When we were speaking at Bruce's house last September, we were marveling at the top medical care Dave got when battling the pancreatic cancer.
Very saddened by this tragic news. My heartfelt condolences to the Willis family.
I'm remembering Dave as one of a small group of forum vets who took me under wing and patiently directed my fledgling efforts at fishery/pond management 7 years ago. Despite his numerous duties as a father, husband, grandfather, head of fisheries dept., he always sacrificed time to respond to my emails or phone calls with enthusiasm. It's a tragic loss, yet I take heart with that countless others will benefit from his teachings, through guys like us, for generations to come. In that way I feel like he's still with us, and we're passing his influence along...
Dave was an uber postive and patient mentor and I will miss my friend dearly. Hard to focus on anything else today over here.
As many I did not ever get to meet Dave myself. I am not only sorry for his family but sounds to me like he had a LOT of good friends out here on the forum! My feelings out to you all as well. Good friends are not easy to find and when they pass it's just never easy no matter what.
I am sorry to you all for your loss PB members, and to Daves family we will keep you all in prayer!
RC
Very saddened to hear that news. I with many others had very good bonds with Dr.Dave. His friends, family and the fishery profession will miss a terrific person that graced and enlightened our world.
My thoughts and prayers to the family...
Very sad to hear this. Dr Dave was a good man, and always had time to answer the most simply questions from those of us who needed help and advise. RIP Dr Dave...
Sad news. I didn't even notice he was sick at Bruce's house. Very strong man. I immediately noticed the wealth of knowledge this man had. Prayers to his family.
John, you hit the nail on the head. He had beat cancer, and was healthy.
This is such a shock. It's almost like the Lord tried to take him earlier, and state of the art medicine saved him. This time, the higher calling was not to be denied.
Like John, seeing him at Bruce's was my first time to meet him. What I did notice was how all the people in the room lit up when he walked in. Obviously a very loved and respected man.
Prayers sent.
Dr Dave was one of those people who's foot prints were larger than life. The worth of a man is measured by the people they touched and the good they do and inspire. Dave touched more people than will ever be known, and his inspiration will go on for generations.
A class act all the way, Dave would always help in the most respectful way. He was such a great example and teacher. Our prayers are with his family as Dave rejoices with his Lord.
Like John, seeing him at Bruce's was my first time to meet him. What I did notice was how all the people in the room lit up when he walked in. Obviously a very loved and respected man.
Prayers sent.
So very true. What a great way to put it.
WHAT?? Oh man, oh man, oh man. I'm at a loss for words. I just don't know what to say.
My prayers go out to Susie and the Willis family.
The only good thing (if you could call it that) was that he left us quickly doing something that he liked vs. whithering away in a hosptial.
Bob, Eric, whomever knows. Please let us know were to send cards, flowers, etc.
"This is such a shock. It's almost like the Lord tried to take him earlier, and state of the art medicine saved him. This time, the higher calling was not to be denied."
Sunil, that mirrors my thoughts exactly.
Dr Dave was one of those people who's foot prints were larger than life. The worth of a man is measured by the people they touched and the good they do and inspire. Dave touched more people than will ever be known, and his inspiration will go on for generations.
A class act all the way, Dave would always help in the most respectful way. He was such a great example and teacher. Our prayers are with his family as Dave rejoices with his Lord.
Ditto! Having had some very arrogant professors he was definitely not like them! Class act and giving is definitely a good description.
I just got home and saw this. What a horrible tragedy and loss. He was such a special person.
Ken and Lynda
I hope his Grandson is ok? If he was the only one with him at the time I hope he is not to shocked in all of this and he is ok. That boy must be devistated to have something like that happen right in front of him.
RC
I'm so sorry to hear this terrible news.
I will be praying for Dr. Dave's family!
Very sad news
Will be praying for Dr. Dave and his family.
I am new to the forum but extend my condolences to an obviously well liked individual. My very best to Dr. Dave's family in this very tragic time.
I'm crushed and deeply saddened. Our loss is God's gain. Dave will be sorely missed.
This is terrible news. I have a family friend who was a colleague of Dr. Willis and spoke very highly of him. My condolences.
So sad to loss a mentor and pioneer in our pond industry. Mostly sad to loss a dear friend before I could make it out to hunt pheasant with him and his dogs. I will try to make everyday and important one because you just never know when our time on earth is finished. Hope to join you in the next world Dave. Prayers Susie for your family.
If anyone would like to share a moment of silence and a toast, perhaps we could all be together at 8PM EST?
Still kind of in shock here.
At the first conference I attended, I was literally star-struck by many of the experts who generously answer our endless questions on this forum. I hesitated to introduce myself to a few of these guys. "Hi, I'm Omaha." "Who?" I saw Dr. Willis, but never introduced myself.
Not a day after the conference ended I had a PM from THE Dr. Dave Willis. He regretted not meeting ME!
I was blown away and learned a quick and valuable lesson about the Pond Boss Family. No longer do I hesitate to contact an expert and ask for guidance, even if I am just a guy with a little puddle in Nebraska.
I was fortunate, extremely fortunate, to finally get to sit down and talk with Dave last September. Was one of the thrills of the weekend for me. It is incredibly humbling knowing now that it was the last time I'd see him.
Heart remains very heavy.
If anyone would like to share a moment of silence and a toast, perhaps we could all be together at 8PM EST?
Sunil, even if it's just you and me, I'm in!
I am pouring my drink now, in memory of Dr. Dave. You have your reward now, Dr. May we all join you one day. CMM
I'm on the Forum at 8pm honoring Dr.Dave's life, knowledge, friendship, and his Pond Boss membership. I will dearly miss that great fish squeezer and mentor.
It's with the heaviest of hearts and the joy of remembering a man who ranks among the finest on this earth. Kind, gentle teacher, who humbly brought people together, raised people up, made them believe in themselves and each other, knowing we all have a purpose and a God-given mission. From the Pond Boss family...here's a toast and a moment of silence to our dearest of friends, greatest of colleagues, Dr. David Willis.
Rest in Peace, dear, dear friend.
It's with the heaviest of hearts and the joy of remembering a man who ranks among the finest on this earth. Kind, gentle teacher, who humbly brought people together, raised people up, made them believe in themselves and each other, knowing we all have a purpose and a God-given mission. From the Pond Boss family...here's a toast and a moment of silence to our dearest of friends, greatest of colleagues, Dr. David Willis.
Rest in Peace, dear, dear friend.
*clink*
A true friend to many, we had much in common.
Dr. Dave was like the Moderators' smarter brother. He happily shared his knowledge not only with the country's best fishery students, but also with those of us in the unwashed masses. Dave was a connoisseur of the finer things in life, like good friends, good music, and Dr. Suess. To the best of my knowledge, he only ever made two fishery-related mistakes - judging me on separate occasaions to be "hat worthy", even though my arms are far short of six feet long.
Dr. Willis' Official "Too Many Daves" name was, IIRC, Bodkin Van Horn. Sadly, we now have Too Few Daves, by one.
Via con Dios, mi amigo.
Dave Willis an friends at Lusk Lodge 2
That picture brings back a lot of memories.
I believe that gathering was after PB-I. At PB-I, I only briefly spoke to Dave, and was in awe a bit. I didn't feel worthy to intrude on him. Man, I was wrong.
At Lusk Lodge, I got to spend quality time with Dave, and there is nobody more down to earth. As I think I was the youngest person there, he was telling me all the things I had to look forward to. We had covered the failing vision thing, and he was touching on a few other aspects. Then he added..."and weak stream!"
I was like "What????"
Now, some years later...I know, I know!
We are very sad to hear this news. I have tremendous respect for the man. Live for the moment.
This is a bummer. My heart goes out to Dave's family. Always ready to share his knowledge, and as you can see, a very good man.
Memorial donations may be made to the David W. Willis Memorial Scholarship by visiting
www.sdstatefoundation.org or SDSU Foundation, Lohr Building, 815 Medary Ave., Box 525, Brookings, SD 57007; 605-697-7475.
Found this in my photos. Dave was very interested in Bruce's Pavlov trained bass.
So sorry and shocked to learn of this. I didn't know Dave and never met him personally, but we exchanged a few fun conversations through PMs here on the forum. Definitely praying for his family.
A lot of you have said live for the moment, live each day like it may be your last. When things like this happen it really starts to make you think about how little time you really do have here on this Earth.
Saying things like live for the moment and live each day like it may be your last can sometimes not be so easy, as you can get all caught up in all the things going on in this life and if your not careful you just missed it!! The actual phrase doesn't happen very often to the extent in which you would like it to, but I actually found myself smack dab in the middle of one certain moment last year at the pond.
My mother and father were here working with me as they been the past few years and it was Fathers Day Weekend. We had everyone up to the cabin for a big lunch and work / fun party. I was having a blast watching my 2 boys catching these large BG and HSB and LMB that God and the good folks at PondBoss has blessed me with and my parents were on the deck watching their son and grandsons fishing and having a blast and I just stopped what I was doing as the spirit of joy just came over me and I realized how important of a moment I was having and almost missed it!! I started to tear up and my 10 year old son asked me was I ok? I looked at him and said yeah buddy I couldn't be better as I helped him put a worm on his hook! I was actually in that moment you live for! That was awesome and something I will not soon forget!!!
Sorry just thought I would share!
RC
I didn't know Dr. Willis but my eyes are tearing up reading all these great sentiments. It's obvious he was very well respected and a wonderful human being, what a terrible loss. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
This is a picture that kenc sent to me, and requested to be posted:
Ken, if you care to describe it...
My day included a lot of thoughts about Dr. Dave and his wonderful bride. Special doesn't even begin to describe the two of them.
Lynda and I last saw Dr. Dave and Susie about a year ago when a number of us gathered at the Lusk's. Dave was so vibrant. He looked and acted like he did before he was originally diagnosed with a medical problem. He gave all of us signed copies of his great pond management book, which is becoming a standard in aquaculture training.
There are just so few people like him, he will be leaving a huge void, especially in the educational community.
It is really hard to think of him not participating with us. In his memory, I think it would be great if Pond Boss friends could provide substantial contributions to the scholarship funds to further his many research projects and students.
Just a good picture of a great man doing what he loved. He loved his grandbabies.
I keep thinking of Dr. Dave and my original first post. My condolences and prayers go out to his family, and I feel so bad for his grandson who experience his passing. I want to explain why I said "Off to the next great adventure!"
It is my firm belief that heaven is a heck of an adventure full of God, love and new things and meetings of people we thought lost to us. I have no doubt a soul like Dave's will be there in the midst of it, admiring it, and comforted by it.
I didn't know Dr. Dave much at all apart from a few forum interactions, but I have read some of his work. He seemed like one of those rare individuals you come across that can be easily liked, admired and appreciated as confirmed by this thread.
I didn't want to come off sounding callous so I wanted to clarify as I was short on words as I didn't know what to say.
RC, thanks for sharing.
liquidsquid, your original post didn't seem off to me. ' Off the the next great adventure ' is pretty accurate for Dave. On fb, you can see how many students he influenced, but for many of us, we met Dave away from SDSU, on an adventure.
I echo catmandoo's comment also about supporting the scholarship fund. It's also a good time to think about supporting the Jesse West Foundation at SDSU which Dave was instrumental in establishing with ewest.
Liquidsquid, your belief of Heaven is my belief. I am a Christian, not much of one but one nevertheless. I know that I will see Dave again in Heaven as he is and was a lot better Christian then I have ever been. LS, I will look you up also. Ken Carroll.
This is a picture that kenc sent to me, and requested to be posted:
Ken, if you care to describe it...
Prayers to the Willis family.......... The pic is a tear jerker but what a great pic!!!
I know its none of my business but I had to come back and ask what was the cause? Tell me nonya and I'll never bring it up again.
Hangloose, as far as we know right now, Dave had a heart attack while ice fishing with one of his grandsons. I believe he passed on later that day at the hospital. Probably fought til the very end...
RC those are the moments that Dave lived for as do all of us. Life is short make it count for something. Thanks for reminding us all !
Here is one of those moments Dave was so very proud of
Dr. Dave Willis was a great guy willing to help with any and all questions I had. He was very knowledgeable and very willing to help.
I am at a loss for words after reading this.I didn't know the man but it's obvious he has touched many lives and will be deeply missed.My prayers go out to the Willis family.
Dave's funeral starts in about 15 mins. My flight was cancelled so I can't get there. A moment of reflection on the loss and peace and understanding to all the friends , students and family !
I am joining you in those reflections.
I have kept busy today to keep the tears out of my eyes.
It's a sad day!
Blizzard conditions prevented both Shawn and I from attending. Felt sick about it...
UN-finished PM that I was hoping would last quite a while.
Dave, Rest in Peace!
Hangloose, as far as we know right now, Dave had a heart attack while ice fishing with one of his grandsons. I believe he passed on later that day at the hospital. Probably fought til the very end...
Thanks for the reply and info Sunil!!! Not a great way to go but he was with family (teaching & passing on knowledge) and having a good time also!
Again, prayers to Dave's family.
Here is one of those moments Dave was so very proud of
Eric,
Who is the young lady? Daughter, student?
She is his student.
I want to say she was at PB IV or PB V.
Thanks Sunil.
Cody Note - Her name was Melissa and her PhD dissertation was with Dr Willis and it dealt with competition between SMB and walleye. Funding for a lot of her study was from the Jesse West Foundation at So Dakota State Univeristy. Summary of her project was in the Jul-Aug 2008 Pond Boss magazine; article title was Fish Competition.
It's always sad when members of our families or our friends and colleagues leave us, but we have to try to remember that death is only a new beginning. Many, perhaps all, of us get to do this all over. Researching James Leininger might offer some a new perspective on what might appear to be our final moment.
It's always sad when members of our families or our friends and colleagues leave us, but we have to try to remember that death is only a new beginning. Many, perhaps all, of us get to do this all over.
As you may know there are some quantum mechanic scientists that are now theorizing not only has our universe started over about 9 times, but there may be multiple universes at one time in one place. Also an infinite number of us in different universes with different outcomes.
They are coming up with stuff that would be considered pure science fiction a few decades ago. Credible scientists too and not crackpots.
Anything's possible if you consider the incredible enigma the universe is and how we can't even fathom a creator that could make it that way.
I sure hope there isn't more than one of me out there. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
Every time I receive a catalog from SDSU in the mail, I will have to fight back a tear. He was an amazing person , and when I met him a PB I & II he was more than happy to talk to the me ( a forum goofball) and was always quick with a kind intelligent word. The world is better off because of his love of nature, science, and people. I am still in shock as I just logged on here for the first time in a few weeks to see this. God Bless his family and friends.
Melissa Wuellner is a Ph.D. at SDSU and has won numerous awards from AFS and was the first student we helped. Here is a link.
http://www.sdstate.edu/nrm/research-endowments/upload/Fish-Competition-July-August-2008.pdf Here from Pon Con II
Just now seeing this. I will take a moment of silence and have a glass of Zinfandel in the late Dr. Willis' honor. While family and friends think that brother Dave was taken from them way too early, our Lord knows that Dave accomplished what he was sent here to do, and now he was called home. Rest in Paradise brother Dave.
