Arnold "Toby" Williams

Arnold Hunnewell "Toby" Williams Jr. died on May 21, 2024, at his home in Maynard, MA, after a long journey with Alzheimer's disease. He was 78 years old.
He was born in Denver, CO, on October 27, 1945, to Dr. Arnold Hunnewell Williams and Margaret Keith Williams. His mother immediately nicknamed him Toby, the name by which he would be known throughout his life.
Toby was an artist who lived a colorful life guided by creativity, humor, and a big love for his family. He grew up in Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, and Idaho, then returned to Colorado again before high school. While he lived in Ft. Collins, CO, his babysitter was Judy Collins, who later became a well-known singer.
Although he loved the landscape of the West, his family roots in New England ran deep on both sides of his family. He spent many summers with grandparents and cousins in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. And he always looked forward to attending his family's annual Fourth of July baseball game in Wellesley, MA-a town founded by his great-great-grandfather.
When Toby started high school at High Mowing School in Wilton, NH, it quickly felt like home. With a curriculum rooted in the Waldorf philosophy, the school nurtured his art and creativity. He was also a member of the soccer team and graduated in 1964 as president of his class of 16. In the decades that followed, the annual alumni weekend remained a highlight on his summer calendar and kept him closely connected to the school that meant so much to him.
After high school, Toby attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and graduated in 1969 with a BFA in sculpture. He then backpacked through Europe and lived for a short time in Amsterdam and Denmark. He later headed to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico to live and work in an artist colony. There he met author Karl Franz and illustrated his book, The People's Guide to Mexico, which set him on a path to a career in illustration.
He returned to New England and settled in Boston, reconnecting with his father who lived in Cambridge, MA. He went to work at TR Productions in Boston as an art director, creating graphics and illustrations for corporate multimedia presentations. In 1979, he struck out on his own as a freelance illustrator and launched an antique business. His curious collections were the stuff of legend, and he especially loved selling at the Brimfield Antique Market.
He first met Susan Prien in 1978 through their mutual friend after a juggling class. They dated for four years and married in 1982 at a family home in Wellesley, MA, that had once belonged to his grandparents. They rehabbed a Victorian house in Watertown, MA, and launched a freelance graphic design and illustration business from their home studio. They welcomed their daughter Amanda in 1986 and their son Nathaniel in 1991. In 1994, Toby and Susi built a house in Boxborough, MA, where they raised their family. Toby loved his children deeply and was so proud that they both later chose to work in creative fields: Amanda as an illustrator and Nate as an industrial designer. And his family expanded further in 2012, when Amanda married Ryan Galvin and Toby happily welcomed him as his son-in-law.
Toby's career was filled with illustration assignments for corporate clients such as Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Digital Equipment Corp., Polaroid, and Tyco, and for publishers such as Houghton Mifflin, Nickelodeon, Scholastic, Sundance Publishing, and Little, Brown, and Company. His work was also published in magazines such as Inc. and Redbook. Always stretching his creativity, he also spent his free time designing sets for many theatrical productions at R. J. Grey Junior High School, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, Maynard High School, and Summer Fenn Day Camp. He also enjoyed teaching cartooning at R. J. Grey and sharing his cut-paper art with students at various schools and local libraries.
Toby had an inventive side as well. In 1998, he collaborated with a friend to design the Sock Hook, a lightweight wooden hook for hanging Christmas stockings on a mantel. These were manufactured in Maine and sold for many years through L. L. Bean, Williams Sonoma, and other retailers.
In 2015, Toby and Susi moved to Maynard, where Toby enjoyed his studio at ArtSpace Maynard, a local artist collective. There he continued creating his series of robot portraits from found metal parts and enjoyed socializing with the other artists.
Despite his declining memory in the past few years, he kept his sense of humor and the twinkle in his eye, and he worked hard to stay sharp with reading, yoga, and long walks. He looked forward to weekly coffee with his friend Wayne, making art with Amanda, and canoeing with Nate on the Assabet River near his house. As he faced more challenges, support from hospice helped his family care for him at home, and he knew them until the end.
In addition to his loving wife, children, and son-in-law, he leaves two sisters, Caroline Williams of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, and Marcia Nowak of Wickenburg, AZ; and a brother, Christopher Williams of Center Harbor, NH, as well as many loving nieces and nephews. He is also dearly missed by Susi's family, with whom he shared a close bond throughout their years together.
A celebration of his life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 30, 2024, at Sanctuary, 82 Main Street, Maynard, MA. Everyone is invited to wear blue, Toby's favorite color, and to bring a story to share.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to ArtSpace Maynard (artspacema.org) or to High Mowing School in Wilton, NH (highmowing.org).