ALBRIGHTON, Shropshire — David J.C. Austin, the second-generation leader who transformed his father’s family nursery into a globally celebrated rose brand, died July 22 at his Shropshire home. He was 67.
His family announced that Austin had been diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), an incurable neurological disorder that causes rapid brain deterioration. The company confirmed he died surrounded by family, less than eight years after the December 2018 death of his father, company founder David C.H. Austin.
Carrying Forward a Family Vision
Born in 1958, Austin joined the family business in Albrighton in 1990, working alongside his father as the elder Austin’s pioneering work breeding English Roses gained international acclaim. Over the next three decades, Austin rose from managing director to chairman, guiding the company through substantial expansion while preserving the focus on fragrant, garden-worthy roses.
Under his leadership, David Austin Roses evolved from a regional nursery into a globally recognized horticultural name, exporting English Roses to gardeners, florists, and landscapers worldwide. He earned widespread credit for safeguarding his father’s founding philosophy: that a rose should blend the beauty and fragrance of old garden varieties with the repeat-flowering reliability of modern hybrids, even as the company scaled internationally.
A Family’s Tribute
In a company statement, Austin’s children — Richard, James, and Olivia — remembered their father primarily as a gardener at heart.
“That was at the heart of who he was,” they said, describing a man who carried his own father’s vision forward “with humility and an unwavering sense of responsibility,” always placing the roses, the family business, and its employees before himself.
The family characterized him as kind, modest, and playful, with a genuine enjoyment of life, and said he faced his illness with the same courage and dignity he brought to everything else.
“Above all, he was our Dad,” they said, “and words cannot express how much we will miss him. We couldn’t be more proud of him.”
The family also thanked those who cared for him and supported them during his illness.
Tributes From the Horticultural World
News of Austin’s death prompted tributes across British horticulture. The Royal Horticultural Society expressed deep sadness. BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don paid tribute, noting Austin left behind a legacy of millions of exquisite roses that would endure, and offered condolences to the family.
Hundreds of gardeners and rose enthusiasts shared condolence messages on the company’s social media accounts, many recalling personal encounters with Austin at flower shows or crediting the roses he helped bring to market with transforming their own gardens.
Company Moving Forward
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 partners and rose lovers worldwide, signaling continuity for a business that has weathered the loss of both its founder and the son who expanded it into a global brand.
Austin’s death closes a long chapter of direct family leadership at a company built on his father’s decades-long pursuit of the perfect rose. Yet with a third generation of Austins — his children Richard, James, and Olivia — already connected to the business, the family’s stewardship of the English Rose appears poised to continue, even as it enters a new phase without the two men most responsible for building it.
For more information on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, visit the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. For details on David Austin Roses’ current offerings and future plans, visit the company’s official website.