Mr. William W. Williams Jr., 85, of Woodbine Circle, Newnan, Ga., died on Monday, May 7, 2012.
Mr. Williams was born on Jan. 28, 1927, in Savannah, Ga., to the late Anna Rackley Williams and William W. Williams Sr.
He was reared in Sylvania, Ga., and following graduation from Sylvania High School he joined the U.S. Army during World War II, where he spent two years — one year in Korea. After returning from overseas he attended Georgia Teachers College and received a B.S. Degree in 1949. In 1954 he received a Master’s Degree in Administration from George Peabody College, and in 1958 he graduated from the Banking School of the South, LSU.
Mr. Williams moved to Newnan in 1952. In 1954 he married Barbara Burdette, his wife of 55 years. He joined the Citizens and Southern Newnan Bank in 1954. After serving for 22 years as president, he retired in 1989. During his career he was a member of the Rotary Club of Newnan for 58 years and was a past-president. He was a member the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce for over 50 years, serving on the Board of Directors for many years. He was on the Newnan Hospital Board of Directors for 28 years, including one term as president.
Active in business and civic affairs he previously served as chairman of the Coweta County Development Authority for 20 years, chairman of the Economic Development Committee of the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce for six years, and a member of the West Georgia Private Industry Council for 15 years. While he was active in economic development, the community was successful in attracting a number of large industries that have continued to grow and provide good jobs for our area.
Mr. Williams served on the Newnan Board of Education for one term and served as the chairman of the Sixth Congressional District STAR Student Program for seven years. While serving as trustee of West Georgia College for 15 years, he took a special interest in urging the college to develop their branch operation, the Newnan Center, in 1986. This branch campus at Shenandoah has been very successful and well attended.
Mr. Williams was also active in the Newnan-Coweta United Way. He was named Georgia Economic Development Volunteer of the Year for 1988 by the Georgia Industrial Development Association. He was named Citizen of the Year for Coweta County in 1991 by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce. The Newnan-Coweta National Secretaries Association named him Executive of the Year in 1978, and he was named Young Man of the Year for Newnan and Coweta County by the Jaycees in 1962.
Other offices held were: President of Newnan Retail Merchants Associations, 1952, Coweta Cattlemen’s Association, 1961, Chairman of Group 4 of the Georgia Bankers Association, 1971, Coweta County Heart Association for 10 years, director and treasurer of the Coweta County Red Cross Chapter, 1957, treasurer and member of the Executive Committee of the Western Baptist Association for five years.
He was a devoted member of the Central Baptist Church for over 50 years, where he served at various times as a deacon, a choir member, a Sunday school teacher and a trustee.
Surviving family members include daughters and sons-in-law, Ann Burdette Williams and Paul David Steinke of Brooklyn, NY., Jane Kelly Williams and David Thomas Richards of Tenafly, NJ; and a granddaughter, Willa Kate Richards.
Other family members include step-grandchildren, Jonathan Steinke, his wife Nicole LaRossa, and their children Theo and Zacharias; David Steinke, his wife Lauren, and their children Bayla and Jacob; and Darcey Steinke, her husband Mike Hudson, and her daughter Abbie Hornburg.
The funeral service is Thursday, May 10, at 11:30 a.m. at the graveside in Rest Haven Cemetery, Gordon Street, Washington, GA 30673, with Dr. Joel Richardson officiating. The family will receive friends Wednesday between 6 and 9 p.m. at McKoon Funeral Home, 38 Jackson St., Newnan, GA. The family respectfully requests that neither flowers be sent nor contributions made. Instead, please offer prayers for the community of Newnan that “Mr. Bill” loved so much.
McKoon Funeral Home, 770-253-4580
