ALBRIGHTON, Shropshire \u2014 David J.C. Austin, the chairman who transformed his family\u2019s specialist rose nursery into one of the world\u2019s most recognized horticultural brands, died July 22 at his home in Shropshire. He was 67.<\/p>\n
The company announced that Austin had been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)<\/strong>, a rare and incurable neurological condition that causes rapidly progressive brain damage. He died surrounded by his family, less than eight years after the passing of his father and company founder, David C.H. Austin, in December 2018.<\/p>\n Born in 1958, David J.C. Austin joined the family business in Albrighton in 1990, working directly alongside his father as the elder Austin\u2019s pioneering work breeding English Roses<\/strong> gained international recognition. Over the next three decades, he served first as managing director and later as chairman, guiding the company through significant global expansion while preserving the core mission of breeding fragrant, garden-worthy roses.<\/p>\n Under his leadership, David Austin Roses grew from a regional nursery into a globally known name in horticulture, exporting its English Roses to gardeners, florists, and landscapers worldwide. Industry observers credited him with protecting his father\u2019s founding philosophy \u2014 that a rose should combine the beauty and fragrance of old garden varieties with the repeat-flowering reliability of modern hybrids \u2014 even as the company scaled internationally.<\/p>\n In a statement released by the company, Austin\u2019s children \u2014 Richard, James, and Olivia \u2014 remembered their father first as a gardener at heart.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was at the heart of who he was,\u201d they said, describing a man who carried his own father\u2019s vision forward \u201cwith humility and an unwavering sense of responsibility,\u201d always placing the roses, the family business, and its employees ahead of himself.<\/p>\n The family described him as kind and modest, with a playful spirit and a genuine enjoyment of life, adding that he faced his illness with the same courage and dignity he brought to everything else.<\/p>\n \u201cAbove all, he was our Dad,\u201d they said, \u201cand words cannot express how much we will miss him. We couldn\u2019t be more proud of him.\u201d<\/p>\n The family thanked those who cared for him and supported them during his illness.<\/p>\n News of Austin\u2019s death drew tributes from across British horticulture. The Royal Horticultural Society<\/strong> expressed deep sadness at the news. BBC Gardeners\u2019 World<\/strong> presenter Monty Don paid tribute, saying Austin left behind a legacy of millions of exquisite roses that would live on, and offered condolences to the family.<\/p>\n Hundreds of gardeners and rose enthusiasts posted messages of condolence on the company\u2019s social media accounts in the days following the announcement. Many recalled personal encounters with Austin at flower shows, while others credited the roses he helped bring to market with transforming their own gardens.<\/p>\n David Austin Roses said it would continue operating under its experienced leadership team, working closely with the next generation of the Austin family. The company reaffirmed its commitment to its partners and to rose lovers around the world, signaling continuity for a business that has now endured the loss of both its founder and the son who expanded it into a global brand.<\/p>\n Austin\u2019s death closes a long chapter of direct family leadership at a company built on his father\u2019s decades-long pursuit of the perfect rose. Yet with a third generation of Austins \u2014 his children Richard, James, and Olivia \u2014 already connected to the business, the family\u2019s stewardship of the English Rose looks set to continue, even as it enters a new phase without either of the two men most responsible for building it.<\/p>\nCarrying Forward a Family Vision<\/h2>\n
A Family\u2019s Tribute<\/h2>\n
Tributes From the Horticultural World<\/h2>\n
The Company Moving Forward<\/h2>\n