Owen W. (“Obie”) Williams, 92, of Williamsburg, VA finished his race on June 1, 2017 and now rests with the Lord Jesus, his savior. He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Betty Lou “Bou” Williams.
Born on August 24, 1924, in Trouville, France, Owen was the third of five children of famed National Geographic photographer and writer Maynard Owen Williams, and former missionary Daisy Woods Williams. His first years were spent in France, Syria, and Turkey, and then moved to the Washington D.C. area in 1930. Obie grew into an avid sportsman, always fostering enduring friendships through team and individual competition. His sports included basketball, swimming, football, track and field, tennis, boxing, and semi-professional baseball. He had a lifelong love of golf, making four holes-in-one and several times “scoring his age.”
In his career he served all four military services, and the Department of Defense. At Kalamazoo College, he trained in the US Marine Corps ROTC, but WWII sped things up and before being commissioned and graduating, he enlisted in the US Navy as a Patrol Torpedo (PT) boat gunner’s mate aboard PT-334 in the Pacific theater (1944-45), serving combat around New Guinea and the Philippines. After WWII, he returned to be married in 1946 to his beloved Bou, and graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1948. He entered into the Mapping, Charting and Geodesy (MC&G) field for the US Army Map Service through 1955; the US Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory where he became Director, Terrestrial Sciences Laboratory through 1972; and finally in the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) where he rose to become Deputy Director, the agency’s top civilian position through 1982. Always working with the best scientific minds in the world, he built dozens of international friendships and pioneered in satellite and laser geodesy (culminating in the deployment of the Global Positioning System or GPS). While at DMA, he was awarded the coveted Presidential Meritorious Executive Rank Award in 1981 by Secretary of State Casper Weinberger, as well as played tennis often with Vice President George Bush. His worldwide professional renown in MC&G broke international cooperation barriers through scientific research and development, and increased the understanding of the Earth’s geodesy, gravity, and geophysics. Building scientific partnerships on all populated continents was his career achievement, especially with European, South American, and Asian colleagues who invited him to lecture in Scandinavia, the cold war Soviet Union, and to initiate a cooperative MC&G exchange with China.
Raising five children with Bou in Garret Park, MD; Fayville, MA; and Annandale, VA; as well as at their New Hampshire vacation cabin, was a joy to Obie over four decades, from 1948 when the first child was born until the last graduated from college in 1987. After retirement, Obie and Bou enjoyed connecting with family that included grandkids and great grandkids from their homes in Williamsburg, VA. Obie was gifted to love each in their own way – connecting to each child’s personality, right where they were in life, and then inspiring and encouraging them along their life’s journey. In Williamsburg, Obie grew closer to the Lord especially through Williamsburg Community Chapel’s Mini Bible College and Men’s Fellowship Breakfast. After moving into Chambrel Retirement Community (now Brookdale), he found new friendships, deepened his old ones, and expressed his love of family with personal effort and quality time. No matter status or position, Obie Williams offered you his respect, love and humanity.
He is survived by his children, Janet Ferrell (John) of Milford, DE, John Williams (Jody) of Rumney, NH, Marlene Lopez (Juan) of Fairfax, VA, Todd Williams (Amy) of Mechanicsville, VA and Daniel Williams (Meg) of Yorktown, VA; grandchildren, Brian, Tyler, Anna, Daniel, Benjamin, Robert, Matthew, Felicia, Sarah, Abigail, and Christopher; great-grandchildren, Palmer, Campbell, Collins, Emma and Hadley; brother, Chuck Williams (Carol) of Bakersfield, CA; and sister-in-law, Mary Williams of Williamsburg, VA.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 2:30 PM, on Sunday, June 11, 2017, at Williamsburg Community Chapel, 3899 John Tyler Hwy, Williamsburg. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to two of Obie’s favorite local non-profit orgs: Carenet Peninsula, 11747 Jefferson Ave, Suite 3H, Newport News, VA 23606, www.carenetpeninsula.org, or Lackey Free Family Medicine, 1620 Old Williamsburg Rd, Yorktown, VA 23690, www.lackeyclinic.org. You may offer condolences at www.nelsencares.com
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