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Harold Williams
Harold Williams of Westhampton Beach died April 20. He was 90.
As a history teacher, Mr. Williams not only taught the American Dream, he lived it. Born in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, on July 6, 1929, he came into this world four months prior to the Great Depression.
His parents, Bill and Mary Williams, were descendants of Wales and the Ukraine, respectively. Mr. Williams’s early life was shaped by the culture of immigration and economic hardship.
After graduating from Nanticoke High School, in 1947, Mr. Williams joined the U.S. Navy and served aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Leyte during the Korean War. While on the Leyte, Mr. Williams would serve in the first integrated combat squadron in U.S. Navy history.
Like millions of American servicemen, Mr. Williams used the G.I. Bill after Korea to attend Mansfield State College and Bucknell University to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in education and began a 33-year career in education in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania. In 1952, he married Carole Davis, of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania.
In 1961, Mr. Williams and his family would settle in Westhampton Beach alongside his brother Don. He would teach history, coach football and wrestling for the better part of the next decade.
He joined the Westhampton Beach Fire Department, in which he served for the next 22 years.
The early 1970s would see Mr. Williams transition from the classroom to athletic director/assistant principal. In 1977, he became the principal of the Westhampton Beach Junior High School. During his time as principal, his wife Carole lost a short battle with cancer.
In 1984, Mr. Williams married Susan Rogers. Following his retirement in 1987, Mr. Williams would continue to serve his community on several Westhampton Presbyterian Church boards, and as a Westhampton Beach Village Trustee.
Harold loved spending time with his wife Susan of 36 years, their six children, and seven grandchildren. He enjoyed traveling, seeing Broadway shows, and frequently playing golf as a member of the Westhampton Country Club and Pointe West Country Club, in Vero Beach, Florida.
In 33 years of education, punctuated by fairness, compassion, and integrity, family members said, Mr. Williams influenced thousands of students in the classroom, on the football field, and in the wrestling room. As a result, he leaves this world a better place than when he entered it, his family said.
He is survived by his wife Susan Rogers of Vero Beach, Florida; his brother Don and his wife Ginny of Ft. Pierce, Florida; his children, Don (Cathy), of Grand Prairie, Texas, Kathy (Jim) and their children Ryan and Maggie of Lewes, Delaware, Ty (Kristin) and their children Jacalyn, Tyson, and Patrick of Newport, Rhode Island, David (Patrice), Korey (Donna) and their children Alex and Owen, and Christian (Jola) all of Westhampton Beach, and his extended family and friends.
27east on Apr 23, 2020