- Date Of Birth: October 17, 1941
- Date Of Death: July 14, 2021
- State: Georgia
Bill Russell Williams of Fairbanks passed away Wednesday July 14th, 2021 from injuries he received in an automobile accident on Chena Hot Springs Road Tuesday July 13th. He was born October 17th, 1941 in a small log cabin in Tiger, Georgia to Bonnie Stockton Williams and Elbert Nathan Williams.
Bill first came to Fairbanks in January 1965 freshly discharged from active duty in the US Navy to help an older brother in a gold mining adventure. He fell in love with Alaska and in Fall of 1965 he returned to his family in Florida and went to work at the Chemstrand Corporation nylon plant in Pensacola, Florida working as many double shifts as humanly possible to save enough money to move his family to Alaska. In June 1967, Bill, his wife Jean and children Jeannie and Kenneth left their home in Florida with their possessions packed in a 1965 Chevelle and a 38-foot Spartanette trailer towed by a 1960 International 1-ton flatbed truck on their way to Alaska by way of Charlotte, North Carolina where he was to attend heavy equipment operator school. He and his family arrived in Fairbanks two weeks before the 1967 flood.
Bill was pine knot tough and cuckleburr tenacious in all that he did. His working career consisted of farming, sawmilling, a very short stint of moonshining, crash crew firefighter, property assessor, heavy construction worker, gold mining and real estate developer. Bill’s first job in Fairbanks was working with the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assessor’s Department helping to dry out property records damaged by the flood. He assessed many FNSB properties, worked on the Dew Line, trans-Alaska pipeline and at Clear Air Force Station. He was a FNSB and Laborers Local 942 retiree. Bill was a strong, gentle man that would go the extra 10 miles for anyone and never give it a second thought. Bill loved unconditionally and enjoyed a good prank and will be irreplaceably missed.
He is survived by son Nathan Lee Williams, grandchildren Meadow, Autumn, and Nathan Jr Williams, son Kenneth Thesing, ex-wife Hermie Jean Williams, grandsons Ricky Kacsur and Billy Hacker, brother Dan Williams, wife Donella, niece Jill Woods and her children Lani and Bailey, niece Robin Sigmon and her children Scout and Carson, sister Ruth Williams and her son Lee Childs and his children Avery and Lainy, brother Dover Williams, wife Angelia, niece Rebecca Johnson, husband Ben and their children Mirabel, Dawson and Wyatt, and niece Alisa Williams and Gary Riddle, nephew Glen McCravy, wife Susie and their children Margo and Megan, niece Sharon Storck, husband Bill and their children Catilyn and Spencer, nephew Claude Williams and wife Nancy and their family and niece Sandra Dewey, husband Larry and their family and nephew Buddy Williams and family.
Even Though Bill lived in Alaska, for more than 50 years Rabun County still ran in his Veins. He called it home.
