Beloved farmer dies at 100
Arriving in the Valley about a decade after the first settlers, William I. DuBois passed away at his home Friday at the age of 100.
He grew forage, flat and other crops for 45 years at the DuBois Ranch in west Imperial Valley before taking up land and water use issues. He worked at the California State Farm Bureau lobbying the state legislature on behalf of Valley agriculture. But what took precedence was family. Most joyful were his grand and greatgrand children because they achieved phenomenal success, noted his son, Bill DuBois Jr.
Perhaps DuBois’s proudest achievement was stopping the 160-acre farm limit legislation which if successful would have devastated Valley agriculture noted Bill.
“It limits a farmer from taking advantage of economies of scale,” said Bill. “There were constant attacks on free enterprise and profit motive by special interests in the California legislature.”
Yet what Bill remembers most about his father were countless hours in the fields where he spoke about the wonders of nature.
He would point out the different bird species, the cloud formations and their affect on the approaching weather and growth cycles of crops.
“He grew flax for several years, soybeans and other crops no longer grown that are an example of his willingness to be an innovator,” said Bill. “They were unusual crops for the Valley for a while. I hope people remember he was an honest and hard-working man and that is the best epitaph anybody could ask for.”
Bill’s grandfather, John Lamont DuBois started the Central Methodist Church in 1918 and his father maintained fidelity to the church serving on the board of trustees.
John Lamont loved the Kiwanis Club and was president of the El Centro Kiwanis club in 1932, while Bill was president in 1958 and Bill Jr. president in 2003. John Lamont and his family moved to the Valley in 1918 from Orcutt and they lived in a tent for their first two years before building a home on their ranch. They didn’t have electricity until the 1930s or air conditioning until the 1950s. So he was a true pioneer in that sense.
Bill was admired by all, recalled Linsey Dale, executive director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau, where Bill also served on the board of directors.
“He was like an encyclopedia of California water issues with an extensive knowledge of the history,” said Dale. “It’s his honesty, integrity and dedication to Imperial Valley I admired the most. And he had quite a sense of humor.” Bill also had the perspective of someone from a much younger generation, recalled Paul Wenger, California Farm Bureau president. Bill also knew about water not from research but he actually lived it, knowing all the players and interactions, remembered Wenger. “And he had a personality to bring people with strong and diverse opinions together,” said Wenger. “I missed his 100th birthday but we talked last October. It was sad to see him go.”
The late DuBois also served in the military.
“My father joined the Navy at the start of World War II and had command of a landing craft that brought reinforcements ashore once the beachhead had been secured,” said Bill. “He was at the battle of Leyte Gulf and after the war served in the Navy reserve for 25 years. But like a lot of guys of his generation he didn’t make a big deal of it.”