Roy L. Williams, the Old Dominion University professor emeritus of chemistry who was widely known as a wine educator, died Monday, July 28, from complications that developed after he underwent surgery to repair a fractured pelvis. He was 77.

Williams, who lived in Carrollton, Va., with his wife, Sherry, had sustained the fracture in a fall on July 1. Sherry Williams, who holds a master's in chemistry from ODU ('93) and is the water quality control supervisor for the city of Newport News, said he was due to be released from the hospital last Wednesday to begin physical therapy, but before that could happen he had internal bleeding and was moved into the intensive care unit, where he died.

Few people in the institution's nearly 85-year history could match Williams' length of association with ODU. He received a bachelor's degree in sciences from the Norfolk Division of The College of William & Mary in 1960 and returned as an assistant professor of chemistry in 1965 to an alma mater that had become Old Dominion College. He retired from Old Dominion University in 2005, but often visited campus in later years, sometimes to share his wine knowledge.

Upon arrival as a young professor, he found "a very small department with no research space or interest in research," he said in an interview near the time of his retirement. "I taught freshman chemistry for years and eventually began to teach my specialty, organic chemistry. We carried 19 to 21 hours in those days. Today, it's 6 to 9 hours, if that much. Space was at a premium and the building was actually shared with physics, biology and geophysical sciences. Many of the people who taught me physics and math were still here and it was a strange feeling to be a professor in this environment. Professor (C.S.) Sherwood was a jewel of a chairman and a real friend."

He said he remembered a colleague in those early years telling him not to expect to be able to do research. "We fooled him, didn't we!" he added.

Williams' first conducted research in polymers, and then drug synthesis. But he really found his calling, he was fond of saying, when he begin work on the chemistry of natural products, which included grapes and wine. In 1991 he established the ODU Enological Research Facility (ERF), and "that is when research really became fun for me," he said in the 2005 interview.

"We all know what a bad rap alcohol gets in our society. The idea of seeking grant funds to support research that would help establish positive health benefits (of wine) was enough to make many earlier researchers turn and run. But that is exactly what ERF did," he said. He presented ERF research throughout the United States and also in France, Portugal and Germany.

Under the auspices of ERF, Williams organized and taught a wine appreciation class at ODU for about 15 years. He wrote periodic wine columns for the Daily Press newspaper on the Peninsula and received the Virginia Wine Industry Person of the Year Award in 2001. He founded and directed Norfolk's Town Point Virginia Wine Competition, which was to have had its 23rd annual judging and awards presentation this fall. Sherry Williams sent an email to competition judges on Tuesday informing them of Roy Williams' death and announcing that there will be no Town Point Competition this year. She left open the possibility of the competition resuming in 2015.

Williams led an annual ODU Alumni Association Wine Dinner, which he had done in June of this year. "Roy had become the dean of wine educators in Hampton Roads, and I was proud to have him as a friend," said Jim Raper, the editor of ODU's Monarch magazine and also the Humble Steward wine columnist for The Virginian-Pilot, who was co-presenter with Williams at the Alumni Association Wine Dinner in recent years. "He knew wine from the inside-out, but all the technical details he had learned as a chemist never got in the way of his fun-loving, unfussy lectures. Wine appreciation audiences loved him."

That sentiment also extended to ODU's Department of Chemistry. "Love that man! What a wonderful mentor he was for me," said Jennifer Adamski, former chief departmental advisor.

"We shared the same outer office area on the third floor of the Alfriend Chemistry Building for many years," added Adamski, who left ODU in 2010 after 15 years in the chemistry department. "His office was beautiful and relaxing. It had a window, it was filled with his favorite things, and music could be heard playing from it very often. He had a love of cooking, wine, research, chemistry, and his wife. He would often cook delicious meals to share using a one-pot burner in our outer office area! I would describe him as kind, caring and laid back, but with a mischievous side to him.

"I will always appreciate how Roy took me under his wing on my first day and mentored me in the workings of the department, the university, and teaching chemistry. If ever I had a question or a dilemma, I would go to him and ask his advice. His wisdom was deep and his experiences were vast," Adamski said.

Williams, who was born in Portsmouth, received his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Delaware.

In recent years, he rekindled a passion for art by painting in the Japanese Sumi-e tradition and maintained a studio in Smithfield.

Other than his wife, survivors include two daughters, Elise Cofer of Virginia Beach and Valerie Williams of Silver Spring, Md.; son-in-law Richard Cofer and granddaughters Elena and Carmen; son-in-law Gregory Harry and granddaughter Morgan.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Roy L. Williams Carisbrooke Scholarship Fund or the Roy L. Williams Isle of Wight League Artist Scholarship (https://www.regonline.com/roylwilliamsscholarships). A memorial celebration will be held from 7:00 to 9:30 p.m., Sept. 5, 2014, at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center located at 101 Museum Drive, Newport News. The family invites anyone who knew Roy Williams to come and raise a glass in his honor.

The Williams address is 22 Saint Catherine Drive, Carrollton, Va. 23314-3104.