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William Jolly Obituary

William Jolly
Dec. 27, 1927 - Jan. 10, 2014
Resident of El Cerrito
William Lee Jolly, professor emeritus of chemistry at UC Berkeley, died of heart failure on Jan. 10, 2014 at Kaiser Medical Center in Richmond, CA. He was 86.
Professor Jolly's research at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory included thermodynamics, volatile hydrides, sulfur-nitrogen compounds, liquid ammonia solutions, and atomic core binding energies. His extensive publishing included a history of the UCB College of Chemistry and two seminal works on inorganic chemistry; Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry and The Synthesis and Characterization of Inorganic Compounds.
A brilliant photographer, and a member of the Berkeley Camera Club, Jolly was renowned for work on the "Sabatier effect" and invented spectacular printing techniques such as chromoskedasic solarization and silver mirror printing. His other passions included bridge (he achieved the ranking of Life Master) and the Sierra Nevada mountains. He took his family, colleagues and grad students backpacking and camping every summer to "the high country," a source for much of his photography. Jolly was also fond of California wines, bawdy limericks, and his VW Bugs.
Jolly was born Dec. 27, 1927 in Chicago, IL. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in chemistry at the University of Illinois, where he met his wife of 41 years, Frances Ann Adams Bartholomew Jolly. His college summers at Kodak in Rochester, NY refined his keen focus on photography. Fran and "Bill" married in Berkeley in 1950, settling in El Cerrito where they raised three children. In 1952 Jolly earned his PhD at UC and was appointed an instructor in the College of Chemistry. From 1952-55 he headed the Physical Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry Division at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, where he helped devise compounds used in the testing of thermonuclear devices. Appointed a full faculty member in 1955, he later studied at Heidelberg, Germany as a Guggenheim Fellow. In 1984 he was elected a Fellow of the AAAS. Jolly's retirement in 1991 allowed him to be closer with Frances, who succumbed to cancer in 1992.
Jolly met Jane Vavra Weidringer at the Berkeley Camera Club; they married in 1994 and lived in El Cerrito. Jolly is survived by his wife, Jane; his sister, Jacqueline Getzin; his children, Jeffrey, Steven, and Jennifer Jolly; his granddaughter, Breanna Jolly; and his daughter-in-law, Kimberly Jolly. Per Prof. Jolly's wishes, there will be no memorial. A private interment ceremony was held at Sunset View Cemetery in El Cerrito, CA.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times on Feb. 6, 2014.

Memories and Condolences
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2 Entries

Duck-Joo (DJ) Yang

October 19, 2014

Dear Mrs. Jane Jolly and the Jolly family:

My name is Duck joo (DJ) Yang. I was a PhD program student of Prof. Jolly and got my PhD degree in 1977 under his superb guidance. It happened to me to know about his pass-away today but I believe it never be late to send my deep condolence. Last time I saw him was around 2003-4 at his EL Cerrito house and he mentioned me that he was missing the research what he wanted to do at that time. Since my daughter and son are living in the Bay Area, next time when I visit the kids, I would like to visit his cemetery to give my respect with deep appreciation for his great PhD training given to me. Thus, I would like to get in touch with either Mrs. Jane Jolly or Kim Jolly via e-mail, text message or phone call.

Sincerely,

DJ Yang
[email protected]
(972)883-6681 (o)
(214)289-2636 (m)

Kimberly Jolly

February 6, 2014

We miss you Bill! What a wonderful and productive life you had, we are so proud of you.

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