William R. Williams

William R. Williams entered God’s Kingdom on October 31, 2020, at the age of 91. Bill was born in Toledo, Ohio on October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed and the onset of the Great Depression. The son of Sydney and Anna Williams, he was raised in Perrysburg Township and was a 1947 Graduate of Perrysburg High School.  While attending Law School at University of Toledo and working as a salesclerk at Sears Roebuck, he enlisted in the US Navy during the Korean War. He saw action as a Radar Operator aboard the Battleship USS Wisconsin in Korea and later in Cold War operations in the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Upon discharge, Bill returned to Sears where he met the love of his life, Jane (Audrey Jane Garn), whom he married in 1955 at Monroe Street Methodist Church in Toledo. They were happily married for 56 years when Jane passed away in 2011. In 1968 they completed their family by adding daughter Laura Ann, becoming the trio that Bill fondly named “The Three Musketeers.” Bill attained his B.A. from Bowling Green State University and became a social worker for Aid to Dependent Children.  Retail Credit (now Equifax) hired Bill as an insurance investigator, trainer and assistant manager in their Atlanta, Georgia and Shreveport, Louisiana branch offices. Desiring to return to the Ohio area, Bill was hired by Royal Globe Insurance Company as an office manager at their Cleveland branch. Sometime later Society National Bank (now Key Bank) engaged him as personnel interviewer, training facilitator and college recruiter. Bill and his family returned to Toledo area after some 25 years when he became the Employee Assistance Program coordinator for the Northwest Ohio Regional Council on Alcoholism (NORCA). At NORCA, Bill developed numerous Employee Assistance Programs for businesses and governmental agencies in Northwest Ohio area. At age 49, he attained a Master of Science Degree (Health Planning Administration) from the University of Cincinnati. He then became the Director of NORCA and continued to expand new programs for alcohol rehabilitation services for Northwest Ohio. Prior to retiring, Bill also consulted for the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Board of Erie County. In addition to his work and family, Bill enjoyed fishing, doing puzzles of all types, writing poetry, communicating on Facebook, and working on his family tree. In recent years, he was delighted to participate, as a military war veteran, in interviews about his military experiences. He was overjoyed to be part of an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. He also loved tending to his two feline friends, Taffy and Herbie. Bill was a member of: Bowling Green State University and University of Cincinnati Alumni Associations; Perrysburg VFW Post; the USS Wisconsin Association; Carmarthenshire Wales Family History Society; Walter O’Malley VFW Post in Cleveland (Past Vice Commander); Glass City Toastmasters (Past President); and Christ United Church of Cleveland (Board of Trustees Member). Bill was predeceased by his parents Sydney and Anna Williams; his beloved soulmate and wife Jane; brother Richard Williams; brother Robert Williams; sister-in-law Sharon Williams; son-in-law Douglas Shanteau; and niece Heather Gilmore. He is survived by his beloved daughter Laura Williams; grandchildren Douglas (Bridgette) Shanteau, Anna Shanteau and Tyler Frisbie; sister Ellen Williams; and sister-in-law Nancy Williams. Other survivors are his nephews and nieces, including his caring god-daughter Cheryl Williams; many cousins from the Hughes family; and his caring neighbors, especially Kathy & Tom Belcik and Pam & Bob Williams. Memorial contributions can be made to any charity that supports US military war veterans or to Cherry Street Mission in Toledo. Services will be announced at a later date, when in an informal ceremony, Bill and Jane ashes will be cast upon the waters…Soulmates, reunited forever in the House of the Lord, rejoicing with those who have gone before.