Richard (Dick) Williams Obituary

Richard Lee (Dick) Williams

Born January 23, 1947 in Rutland, Ohio; passed on May 14, 2024 in Corinth, Texas, surrounded by family.

He was born to Elbert and Alice Williams, followed by younger brothers Mike and Steve. He grew up surrounded by grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins too many to count.

At age 4, he was diagnosed with polio. He spent time recovering in the Nightengale Cottage in Columbus, Ohio. As in all things, he found positives in any situation and remembers through this time racing wheelchairs through the hallways with other patients.

Polio, numerous treatments and surgeries left his left leg significantly smaller than his right. He noted his predominant limp made him easy to remember.

He moved from Ohio to Arizona where he attended high school and college. High school achievements included Student Body President, gymnast earning All-Around State Gymnast in 1964 as a Coronado Don. During high school he met two key people - his wife Sharon and the guy responsible for Dick and Sharon meeting, Bruce Harris. It was the beginning or a lifelong friendship.

The unusual appearance of an athlete that required his legs to be strapped together because of polio earned a write-up in Ripley's Believe it Or Not. He earned scholarships to Arizona State University, where he continued his gymnastics career and earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering.

He started his career at Goodyear in Akron, Ohio, before returning to Tucson, Arizona to lead the Engineering group at R.E. Darling Company. Returning to Arizona allowed him to pursue his passion for family, photography, four-wheeling, and golf. He continued his career through sales leadership and as President of Eagle-Picher Industries, Ohio Rubber Division.

During college, he and Sharon Barrett married in 1966. They have two children, Scott and Branda, who have added families that are a deep joy in his life: Scott, Holly, Brenden and Allie Williams; Branda, Rev. Bill, Barrett, and Gabriella-Ryan Mauldin. Grandchildren were so special to him that he spent the first months caring for each grandchild when their moms returned to work.

He was humble, kind, welcoming, and quietly funny. He was the guy who drew you in, looked for the best in you, and made you want the best for yourself and others. Through his diverse interests and experiences, he touched many lives. He served on the Boards of Optimist Clubs, Denton Community Theatre, Denton Country Club, and Medical City Denton. He almost became busier after he retired.

After multiple years of issues with his vision and spatial awareness he was finally diagnosed in September 2018, with Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA)/Benson Syndrome - a very rare, degenerative neurological syndrome caused by Lewy Body Dementia. The past years were a slow, painful loss, watching an incredible man slip away day by day. His vision slowly slipped away as his brain became unable to process visual signals from his eyes.

We are grateful he is at peace, but our lives will forever be changed.

Here are some of the ways he touched our lives:

- Change your perspective of what could be a challenge or hardship and find the blessing.

- Treat each person you encounter as the most important person you will talk with today.

- Personally exemplify that whether a leader, peer, employee, customer, or someone you don't know their exact role, all deserve kindness, honesty, and respect.

- Find beauty where you are, whether it is a ghost town in the Arizona desert, art, theater, music, or the laugh of a grandchild who knows how fully loved they are.

- Family (however broadly defined with friends and relatives) matters and is incredibly important.

- No matter how professionally successful you may be, without that family beside you, it doesn't matter.

- Our experiences lose value if they are not shared. Serve others and encourage others to serve alongside you.

Dick's spirit of giving would love gifts in his memory in lieu of flowers. Two things close to his and our hearts:

PCA/Lewy Body research (https://giving.cu.edu/fund/brain-and-vision-fund.)

OR

Arizona State Men's Gymnastics (https://sundevilgymnastics.com/about-us/team-history/)

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.