Funeral services for Harold Lester Williamson will take place on Sunday, December 3rd at 3:30 pm at Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church. The 94-year-old Tampa native succumbed to complications related to heart failure, four weeks to the day after his wife of 68 years, Kathryn Williamson, passed. Known by his patients and colleagues in Tampa for being a thoughtful, skilled, and committed orthopedic surgeon, he had many adventures and accomplishments during his long life. The only child of Horace Lester Williamson and Julia Beth Prell, Harold, at a relatively young age, developed a passion for aviation when he left his neighborhood of Seminole Heights to explore Peter O. Knight Airport and received his pilot’s certificate at age 17. After attending University of Tampa for one semester and being part of its first crew team, Harold joined the US Army Air Forces following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. After graduation from flight training, his skill as a pilot led him to become a flight instructor in B-25’s stateside. He was then sent to Italy where he flew photo reconnaissance in the P-38 over Nazi occupied Europe, rising to the rank of First Lieutenant. After the war, Harold attended the University of Florida, graduating in 1950 courtesy of the GI bill. He subsequently graduated from Emory University Medical School in Atlanta, GA in 1954 and then spent 5 years receiving his Orthopedic training at The Campbell Clinic in Memphis. TN. During his time at University of Tampa, he met his future wife, Kathryn Elizabeth Wilson, also a Tampa native, who supported him during his medical training. The two eventually settled back in Tampa in 1960 and went on to raise 5 children during their long, successful marriage. For decades Harold was a fixture in the Tampa health care and education communities as he ran a successful orthopedic practice. He was very active in organized medicine and was elected President of the Hillsborough County Medical Association in 1975. Harold helped found the first Orthopedic Residency Program at Tampa General Hospital, was Chief of Surgery at Memorial Hospital, was Associate Professor of Orthopedics at the University of South Florida Medical School, served as Chairman of the School Board at St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School for 10 years, was a member of the Vestry at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, and helped establish the Robert McCord Oral School for the Deaf (now the Bolesta Center at USF). An avid sports car fan and driver, Harold competed in numerous automotive races at Sebring, Daytona, and Road Atlanta always in some variant of Porsche, his favorite performance car. The pinnacle of his racing career was when he won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona Grand Touring Class in 1967. Over time, Harold developed a keen interest in Sports Medicine, which led him to become one of the pioneering team physicians for several bay area sports franchises including the University of Tampa Spartans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and the USFL Tampa Bay Bandits. His other interests included tinkering in his shop, jogging, fishing, hunting, gardening and antique restoration. Harold was well known for his beautiful and diverse rose and dahlia gardens. Upon his retirement from medicine in 1997, he and Kathy enjoyed several years of an active retirement including time spent with family and friends, volunteer and civic work in both Tampa and in the mountains of Sky Valley, Georgia, where the two enjoyed the cooler climate and fall colors of the Georgia mountains during the warmer Florida summer and fall. His friends in the mountains came to know him as “Hal” and/or the “Mayor of Sky Valley.” Harold is survived by five children: Kay (and husband Paul) Saari of Lakeland, Alan (and wife Barbara) Williamson of Clermont, Judy (husband Richard) Maugeri of Clearwater, Bryan of Santa Fe New Mexico, & Glenn (husband Kurt Birusingh) of Los Angeles, CA, seven grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in his memory to The Bolesta Center #530022, 4202 East Fowler Ave – ALC 100 Tampa, FL 33620.
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