John Elliot Wills Jr.

1936 - 2017

WILLS, John Elliot Jr.

John Elliot Wills, Jr. age 80, of Pasadena, California, passed away on Friday, January 13, 2017. He was an only child born on August 8th, 1936, in Urbana, Illinois, to John Elliot (Sr.) and GeorgeAnne Hicks Wills.

From 1965 to 2004 he taught Chinese history and the history of the early modern world at the University of Southern California. His research on maritime China and its connections with the early modern maritime world has led him to research in The Netherlands, Taiwan, China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, England, Spain, and Portugal. To do this, he read and/or spoke Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin.

He wrote over fifty articles about China, including two chapters in the Cambridge History of China, and later branched into more popular works including Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History, 1688: A Global History, and The World from 1450 to 1700.

When not teaching, researching, or writing, his spirit of adventure took him on hikes throughout Southern California with his children. Breaks were often occupied by long road trips across the U.S. Family took him to Yemen and sheer curiosity took him across Africa.

Beyond USC, he stayed busy with the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee and the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church.

He always had the perfect words for anything. He was our mentor, encouraging us to go deep into what interests us and what we love, to do all we can to leave a legacy of knowledge and care for other people and future generations, like he did so well up to his last waking moment.

He will live on in the hearts of the many people he touched, from family and friends to academic colleagues and past students, to unknown people who read his books, and to friends at the numerous local associations he was involved in. He celebrated life and he would want the celebration to go on. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Carolin "Connie" Wills; children Cathy, Chris, Jeff, Joanne, Lucinda and their spouses; 7 grandchildren; and 4 great-grandchildren.