After William C. Dickison earned an undergraduate degree in biology at Western Illinois University in the spring of 1962, his outstanding record earned him a graduate teaching assistantship in botany at Indiana University, where I was then teaching. Because I had some research funds available, I invited him to begin his graduate work during the summer of 1962, as well as to serve as my part-time research assistant for the princely sum of $200 a month. When Bill first walked into my laboratory that summer, I sized him up as a big, friendly young man, yet I wondered whether he would make the necessary commitment to undertake the finer details of sometimes routine research activities. Although he admitted that he had no previous experience in microtechniques or palynological preparations, he proved to be a quick learner, and within a few weeks he had convinced me that my original doubts about his adaptability to research requirements were unfounded. I soon became impressed with his meticulous preparations and dedication and learned to rely on his judgment. During the following two regular semesters, he proved to be the top student in my courses in plant anatomy and morphology of the vascular plants. Accordingly, I invited him to be my teaching assistant in both courses, as well as to major in systematic plant anatomy for his advanced degrees under my direction. As I look back on my career of forty years of teaching, research, and administration, I believe that this decision to "adopt" Bill Dickison as my graduate student was one of the smartest moves I ever made. Over the years he has repaid my trust and confidence in his ability and friendship more than a thousandfold. In 1994 I left Indiana University to accept the position of chairman of the Botany Department at Arizona State University. The following year I invited Bill and his good wife, Marlene, to join me in Tempe, so I could advise him regarding the completion of his doctoral research on the Dilleniaceae. Following the attainment of his doctorate in 1966, he taught for three years at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute before being called to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I am quite certain that that institution has never had an occasion to regret the appointment. For thirty years Bill capably taught numerous courses, guided the thesis research of more than a dozen graduate students, published ninety research papers, co-authored two books, obtained research grants totaling $160,000, and was an invited speaker at many colleges, international symposia and botanical congresses. Bill and his wife spent several enjoyable days with my wife and me at our home in Arizona in August 1995. Although he had been diagnosed as having a multiple myeloma in 1992, he