Joseph F. Williamson Jr.; Edited Sunset Magazine, Garden Book

Joseph F. Williamson Jr., 75, a key editor of Sunset magazine and editor of its influential Western Garden Book. Born in Oakland a fourth generation Californian, Williamson attended Santa Rosa Junior College and UC Berkeley before serving in the Navy during World War II. After the war, he began working at Sunset while completing his degree at Stanford. He remained with the magazine throughout his more than four-decade career, retiring in 1990 after holding the positions of garden editor and managing editor. An influential writer as well as editor, Williamson wrote articles on eucalyptus (based on his research in Australia and throughout California), raising chickens in the backyard, and alternatives to poisonous pesticides, including DDT. Perhaps one of his greatest contributions to gardening, however, was editing Sunset’s Western Garden Book published in 1967. The tome broke ground for Western gardeners with its encyclopedic treatment of Western plants and its innovative breakdown of the West into 24 climate zones. Williamson and his staff spent more than five years developing the book, which sold nearly 6 million copies. Williamson also served as a board member and president of Pacific Horticulture. On April 10 in Corte Madera, Calif.