William W. "Bill" Williams Jr., who changed the face of Coweta County as a banker but never forgot his first career in education, will be buried today in his wife's hometown.
Williams, 85, died on Monday. Inez Gardner, who worked with Williams when he was the president of the local Citizens and Southern Bank and she was the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce executive, reflected on his personal strengths and impact. "When I needed an opinion, I always called Bill Williams because I respected him," she said.
Williams played a major role in bringing new industries and businesses to Coweta County – while also working to maintain a vibrant business district in downtown Newnan. He was delighted to see his dream of a college in Coweta County fulfilled through the establishment of the University of West Georgia's Newnan Center.
"He always wanted a college there," recalled Haralson resident Janice Camp, who worked with Williams at C&S for 28 years.
Williams was born in Savannah. He grew up in the south Georgia town of Sylvania where he graduated from high school. After two years in the U.S. Army during World War II — including a year in Korea, Williams set out to become a teacher.
He earned his bachelor of science degree from Georgia Teachers College. When he arrived at his first teaching job in south Georgia, he found only a handful of musicians in the school. He loaded them on the back of a truck, gathered other student musicians from across the county and created an award-winning high school band.
He came to Newnan High School as band director in 1952. Barbara Burdette, a Tift College graduate who grew up in Washington in eastern Georgia, was also a first year teacher in Newnan that year. They married in 1954, the year Bill Williams received his master’s degree in administration from George Peabody College in Nashville, Tenn.
That year Williams left the classroom to go to work at C&S. He graduated from the Banking School of the South at Louisiana State University in 1958. He quickly rose to leadership at the bank and served as president for 22 years before retiring in 1989.
Camp went to work at the bank in 1961. "He always did the right thing," she said. "He was fair."
Camp recalled Williams as a person of strong character and remembered that he expected the same of the people who worked for him. "We had to set an example," she said.
Gardner recalled Williams as "one of the most outstanding members" during her years with the chamber. "He was always there – supporting the chamber and working to better the community," she said.
Coweta County was marked by major industrial growth during the years Williams was a banker. "He was involved with just about every new industry that came," Gardner said.
He also, however, wanted to make sure that growth did not kill the vibrant downtown where he worked on Greenville Street at Spring in a classic brick building designed by architect Philip Trammell Schutze.
"He loved Newnan," Camp said. "When things started moving a little bit and growing, he wanted to save downtown. He didn't want Bullsboro to swallow it up."
After a pause, Camp added, "I think he saved it."
Williams spent decades as a part of many organizations. He was active in the Newnan Rotary Club, where he was a member 58 years. He was part of the chamber for more than half a century and was on the Newnan Hospital Board for 28 years.
He was chairman of the Coweta County Development Authority for 20 years and was a member of the West Georgia Private Industry Council for 15.
Williams was also active in Newnan-Coweta United Way. He was named Young Man of the Year for Newnan and Coweta County by the Jaycees in 1962, Executive of the Year in 1978 by the Newnan-Coweta National Secretaries Association, Georgia Economic Development Volunteer of the Year for 1988 by the Georgia Industrial Development Association and Citizen of the Year in 1991 by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout his life, he retained a strong interest in – and belief in – education. He served on the Newnan Board of Education – before the city and county systems merged – one term. His seven-year chairmanship of the Sixth Congressional District STAR Student Program fueled his interest in having a college campus in Coweta County.
In June 1987, Dr. Steve McCutcheon, then director of continuing education for West Georgia College, met with Williams to discuss Williams' request for West Georgia College courses to be offered in Coweta. A meeting with the economic development committee of the chamber followed a few weeks later. The chamber's executive committee appointed Scott Wilson, another local banker, to head a steering committee that included Williams, Gardner and local educators Winston Dowdell and Bobby Welch.
Dr. Maurice Townsend, then president of West Georgia, announced a college center would be established in Newnan in 1988, and classes began that September at Newnan High.
The Newnan Center at Shenandoah opened in 1990. West Georgia's course offerings have expanded at the local campus over the years.
Williams "was so committed to bringing the university into Newnan, and it would not be here if not for his dedication and persistence," said Cathy Wright, director of the Newnan Center. She said Williams continued to be "a wonderful supporter" of West Georgia's presence in the county.
Bill and Barbara Williams were devoted members of Central Baptist Church. He served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. Mrs. Williams, who spent a career teaching, also worked in Central's children's department and played the piano for their singing.
In 1966, the couple took 16 of her students to Europe for a three-week tour.
Barbara Williams died in 2009 and was buried at Rest Haven Cemetery in her hometown of Washington. Bill Williams' funeral will be held there today at 11:30 a.m. Williams is survived by two daughters, Ann and Jane, and their families.
Williams' impact in Newnan and Coweta will continue for a long time. "He was," Inez Gardner reflected, "one of those people you looked up to and admired."
