Bill Williams, Jr.

Waynesville, Harold Austin "Bill" Williams, Jr., age 91, passed away on Wednesday, September 2, 2015 at Smoky Mountain Health Rehabilitation Center. Born in Welsh, Louisiana, he was the son of the late Harold Austin Williams, Sr. and Beulah Benoit Williams. He was also preceded in death by his first wife, Dorothy, his son, Hal Williams, one sister, Helen Ruth; and a brother, Ted. Bill joined the US Navy in 1942 at the age of 17 and studied medicine and dentistry. He served as a hospital corpsman on the USS Breton and USS ST. Lo aircraft carriers. The carrier he was serving on sank in the Letyte Gulf and luckily Bill was rescued five hours later by the crew of a US destroyer. Upon being discharged in 1946, Bill attended the University of Southern Mississippi and was reactivated in 1950 and served his country as a Marine medic in the Navy for an additional 22 months. He was issued the Silver Star for WWII Victory, three stars for Asiatic Pacific; one star for the Philippine Liberation and one star for Presidential Unit Citation. After his service, Bill went to Alaska as an assistant materials manager and worked on the Alaska pipeline from beginning to completion. Bill is survived by his wife of 19 years, Diane Ross Williams; stepchildren, Diana Aliff and husband, Bill, of Sebring, Florida, Candace Way and husband, John, of Maggie Valley, North Carolina and Michael Uselton and wife, Victoria, of Palmetto, Florida; a brother, Robert Williams and his wife, Tommie, of Birmingham, Alabama; nine step-grandchildren; and nine step-great-grandchildren. A celebration of life service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 6, 2015 at Wells Funeral Home of Waynesville with receiving of friends following the service. A private burial will be at Southern Memorial Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. Memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675.

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