Douglas West, a year-round resident of Martha’s Vineyard since 2017, died peacefully and surrounded by his family on Dec. 16 in Falmouth. He was 77.

He first came to the Island in 1952 at the invitation of Phil and Anita Buddington, whom his mother met at her first post-college job. He came every year thereafter, staying with the Buddingtons until 1960 when his parents bought Reunion, an 1869 gingerbread cottage at 4 Forest Circle in the Camp Ground. His granddaughter Grace is the fourth generation of Wests to make Reunion her summer home.

He born September 24, 1945 in Bellaire, Ohio. He graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. in pre-law and played cornet in the marching band. He also hosted the radio program Darlin’ Doug for pirate WEAK radio with He’s So Fine by The Chiffons as his theme song.

From 1968 to 1971 he served in the Peace Corps and worked with the Cooperative Union, traveling Jamaica’s fishing villages as a liaison with the fishing association.

He graduated cum laude from the Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State University College of Law). He was as a clerk to the Hon. Judge Ralph Freeman of the U.S. District Court who, until Doug’s last day, sat on his shoulder as the good angel consulted for the right course of action. He then joined Ford Motor Company’s office of general counsel.

Recruited by Toyota in 1982, he rose through the legal department to senior vice president for administrative operations, corporate secretary of the executive committee, and ultimately head of the Washington, D.C. office of Toyota’s government affairs and industry relations. He is remembered as never shying away from difficult assignments and always being first to take them on. When an employee whose lesbian partner was diagnosed with breast cancer and couldn’t get health insurance because they were not married, he formed a committee to address the issue and Toyota changed its policy.

He was an executive on loan as chief executive officer and chief operating officer of the U.S. Pavilion at Aichi World Expo 2005, a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of State in Japan where he financed, staffed, designed, built, operated and closed the pavilion operation, hosting more than one million visitors during its six-month term. He and his wife Irene lived in Japan for eight months.

In retirement he was commodore of the Balboa Yacht Club in Newport Beach, Calif. and an avid yachtsman aboard his Tiara, named Islander after the much-loved ferry that first brought him to Martha’s Vineyard.

Active in community affairs, Doug served as a trustee of Claremont Graduate University, president of Toyota’s Urban League Automotive Training Center and Newport Beach Harbor Commissioner.

On the Vineyard he was a director of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meetin g Association, a member of the Chilmark Conservation Committee, vice chair of the Vineyard Conservation Society, and a director of VOLF, now known as Vineyard Community Lands. He was passionate about saving open space on the Vineyard.

He loved and celebrated his diverse family and was proud to be part of an African American, Danish, Mexican, Afghan, Nigerian and Filipino family.

He was predeceased by his parents Melvin and Jane West, and his brother Thomas Gregory West.

Doug is survived by his wife of 36 years, Irene Ziebarth; stepson Rob Ziebarth and his wife Sadia Raoufi, daughter Michelle Wood and her husband Chris Wood, son Doug DelVigna, daughter Erika West and her husband Azubike Kalu Nwiwu Jr.; granddaughters Macy and Sally Wood, and Grace Kelechi West Kalu-Nwiwu; sister in law Darcie West; nephew Brian West and his wife Stephanie West, niece Mallory Carroll and her husband Jamie Carroll; grandnephews Matthew and Micah West, Max and Lee Carroll and grandniece Jane West.

Celebrations of life will be held in the new year at the Balboa Yacht Club in California and next summer on the Vineyard.

Memorial donations can be made to the Vineyard Conservation Society at bit.ly/VCS_donation.