| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, A full and generous life drew to a close with the |
|
|
death of journalist, publisher, and Kerr County commissioner |
|
|
William H. Williams of Kerrville on December 5, 2010, at the age of |
|
|
79; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Bill Williams was born on October 21, 1931, in |
|
|
Birmingham, Alabama, to Calvin and Lillian Levy Williams; raised in |
|
|
Indiana, he attended Gulf Coast Military Academy in Mississippi; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams first came to Texas as a young man, when |
|
|
he took a job as a printer at the Waco Tribune-Herald; in 1955, he |
|
|
met his future wife, Lew, who was an editor at the paper and they |
|
|
were married in 1958; together, they were blessed with a son, Will, |
|
|
and two granddaughters, Erin and Caille; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, A veteran newspaperman, Mr. Williams edited the |
|
|
newspaper of the International Typographical Union in Colorado |
|
|
Springs, Colorado; he then started working at the Daily Racing Form |
|
|
in New York as the labor relations director and retired in the 1990s |
|
|
as the paper's publisher; he and his wife moved to Kerrville in 1993 |
|
|
and purchased the Kerrville Mountain Sun, which they ran for three |
|
|
years; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Throughout his life, Mr. Williams actively |
|
|
participated in civic affairs; while he was working for the Racing |
|
|
Form, he served three terms as a committeeman and three terms as |
|
|
mayor of Freehold Township, New Jersey; in Texas, he was appointed |
|
|
by Governor George Bush to the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, and |
|
|
he was also named to serve on the Alamo Work Force Development |
|
|
Board; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In 1998, Mr. Williams was elected as Kerr County |
|
|
commissioner for Precinct 2, and at the time of his death, he had |
|
|
just been reelected to his fourth term; during his tenure, he played |
|
|
a leading role in creating the Kerrville South Wastewater Project, |
|
|
providing sewer service for the first time to 250 homes; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This outstanding civic leader also served as a |
|
|
director of the Alamo Area Council of Governments, the Alamo Area |
|
|
Development Corporation, and the Kerr County/Kerrville Joint |
|
|
Airport Board; he was a past president of the Host Lions Club and a |
|
|
member of the Alliance for Progress in Center Point; he sat on the |
|
|
executive committee of the Kerr Economic Development Foundation, |
|
|
and he was a member of the Baylor University Alumni Foundation; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Williams was active with Zion Lutheran Church, |
|
|
serving as congregation president during the construction of the |
|
|
church's new sanctuary; he was also a talented pianist who enjoyed |
|
|
performing at the church; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Bill Williams worked to better his community, and he |
|
|
leaves behind a record of achievement and service that his loved |
|
|
ones can look to with great pride; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable William |
|
|
H. Williams and extend sincere condolences to the members of his |
|
|
family: to his wife of 52 years, Lew Williams; to his son, Will |
|
|
Williams and his wife, Pam; to his brother, Calvin T. Williams; to |
|
|
his sister, Carolyn Turk; to his granddaughters, Erin and Caille; |
|
|
and to his other relatives and friends; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
|
|
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of William H. |
|
|
Williams. |