Allan Derrick Williams

Allan Derrick Williams, loving husband and father, passed away at his home in Arlington, VA on February 11. He was 85. Allan was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Bala-Cynwyd, PA. He graduated from Mercersburg Academy and attended Lafayette College for one year before enlisting in the Air Force. He was sent to the Defense Language Institute in Monterrey to study Russian and then to Japan, where he spent 2 years. Upon his return to the U.S., he completed a masters degree at Syracuse University. While there he met his first wife Nannette Gertrude Ladwig. They spent 2 years at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. Later, Allan transferred to the Army and was deployed to Vietnam twice, but he finished his career in Washington, working at the Defense Intelligence Agency. One of his last assignments was writing reports for the Chief of Staff at the Pentagon. Allan's passion was military history. He knew the details of every battle in the Revolution and Civil War and he was a particular expert on the airplanes of World War II. He knew which planes had been used in every mission whether British, American or German, and when presented with a model could identify the squadron, date it had been flown, and the type of weapons it carried. He constructed at least 40 models himself. Allan was predeceased by his first wife, Nannette and is survived by his wife of 25 years, Ginnie Luster; his two children, Allan Derrick Williams III (wife, Zhanna) of Albuquerque, NM and Michelle Williams (husband, Sam Chagani) of Auckland, New Zealand; and his two grandchildren, Nannette Williams and Diana Madsen (Anders and son Oscar). A private family service will be held in March.