DR. BOLANLE ABIOLA AYENI WILLIAMS

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DR. BOLANLE ABIOLA AYENI WILLIAMS
1937 - 2020

Dr. Bolanle Abiola Ayeni Williams, a Nigerian-born, American scientist, died on December 11, 2020, at home in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He was 83.
The legacy of Dr. Bolanle (Bola) Abiola Ayeni Williams will be celebrated in his beloved Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria, where he will be laid to rest. He will be remembered for his remarkable life, love of family and friends, and soft-spoken personality.
Dr. Williams attended Christ's School in Ado Ekiti from 1952 to 1956, and subsequently immigrated to Winnipeg. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Science (1964), a Master's in botany (1966), and a Ph.D in medical microbiology (1970), all from the University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine.
While earning honours in arts and sciences, he married Birdiline Williams (née Smith), a Jamaican nursing student and fellow Canadian immigrant. Dr. Williams wrote that his wedding day was "the best day of my life; probably will always be." They were blessed with three daughters: Aiyemobisi Osunkemi, Bolaji Aduke, and Evangeline Bosede.
Dr. Williams devoted his life to research, virology, and teaching. In 1984, he and his colleagues discovered a new virus: Hepatitis C. Dr. Williams was a deeply stylish and dapper fellow with a gentle, but wickedly mischievous, sense of humour. He loved table tennis, highlife music, and jiving. As a professor, he told his students that education is an endless adventure, and the best time to start is "every time you start."
Dr. Williams was predeceased by his parents, Pa Williams Ogunsua Ayeni Elegbeleye and Mrs. Rachael Ajayi Elegbeleye, and three brothers. He is survived by four brothers and two sisters; his wife, Birdiline Williams (née Smith); their daughters, Aiyemobisi Williams (Bruce Mau), Bolaji Williams (Djen Choo), and Bosede Williams (Robert Kraus); his children, Olumide Williams, Dolapo Williams, Tomilola Williams; and his grandchildren, Osun Mau, Omalola Mau, Adeshola Mau, Ayomi Williams Choo, Jola'de Williams Choo, Emmanuelle Kraus, and Noah Kraus.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please send your favourite memories of Dr. Williams to:
"rememberingdrwilliams@gmail.com."

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 23, 2021