1927
E.W.
2014
E.W. Williams Jr
May 19, 1927 — May 3, 2014
OBITUARY
E. W. Williams, Jr., of Amarillo since 1969, and the Amarillo Globe News “Man of the Year” in 1976, died peacefully at his home on Saturday morning, May 3rd, 2014.
The only child of rancher Embry W. and Charlotte S. (Martin) Williams, E.W. was born on May 19th, 1927, at Post, Texas. He spent his early years living with his parents at their ranch near Post in Garza County, from which he rode his horse about five miles each morning to Grassburr School, where he attended first grade. The family moved into Post when he was seven, and he continued school there until high school, playing clarinet and basketball. He spent his high school years at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, where he continued to play basketball, completed training in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and graduated in 1945 as Sergeant Major of the Corps, the highest rank available to high school cadets. With World War II drawing to a close, that same year he received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Army, then continued his education at Southern Methodist University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance at SMU in 1949, E. W. began his career as assistant cashier at the First National Bank in Grapevine, Texas.
He married his college sweetheart, Mary Anne Morrison of Dallas, on February 18, 1950, and the following year the first of their two sons was born. He was then an Assistant National Bank Examiner for the U. S. Treasury, and concurrently completed the curriculum of the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University, graduating in 1953. He joined the First National Bank in Lubbock as Assistant Cashier later that year, and subsequently became Vice-President and Director. In 1956 he graduated from the American Bankers Association Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, and around this time he also earned a Private Pilot certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. In 1961 he became President/CEO and Director of Citizens National Bank in Lubbock, and later Chairman of the Board. During his years in Lubbock, he also became involved as a Director, organizer or officer in additional banking and other business and trade organizations, including the First National Bank in Post, the Idalou State Bank, T.I.M.E. Motor Freight, Hale County State Bank (“HCSB”) in Plainview and Citizens State Bank in Slaton, Texas, Citizens State Bank in Springer, New Mexico, the South Plains, Texas and American Bankers Associations, and various clearing house organizations. A Mason since 1958 (York Rite Knight Templar, Shrine and 32nd degree Scottish Rite), he volunteered his time and expertise to numerous civic and charitable organizations, including the SMU and Texas Tech Foundations, American Red Cross, YMCA and Boy Scouts, PTA, Rotary, the Lubbock Mental Health Center and County Society for Crippled Children, St. Mary’s Hospital and the First Methodist Church.
In 1969 the Williams family moved to Amarillo when E.W. joined the Amarillo National Bank, where he became Executive Vice-President and Vice-Chairman of the Board. During and after his years with Amarillo National, he continued serving as Chairman of the Board at both HCSB in Plainview and Citizens Bank in Slaton, which progressively expanded to serve numerous communities in the Texas Panhandle, South Plains and Hill Country, and in 2013 merged to form Centennial Bank. In 1977 he briefly served as Senior Board Chairman of the Liberty National Bank in Lovington, New Mexico, and in 1982 he helped organize both the National Bank of Commerce in Pampa and First Bank / Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, then he served as a Director of both organizations for the next few years. In 1986 he became a Director of the First National Bank of New Mexico in Clayton, which has since grown to serve a number of communities in northeastern New Mexico, and until recently he served as Board Chairman of the related holding company. That same year he first became involved with the Coyote Lake Feedyard in Muleshoe, Texas, where he served as Chairman. Between 1986 and 2000 he also served as a Director of Furr’s/Bishop’s, Inc., based in Lubbock, and from 1984 to 2000 as Director and Chairman of the Bank of Commerce in McLean, Texas. In addition to these “day jobs,” until a few years ago E.W. continued to manage and expand the ranch his father started in Garza County. In 1974, he helped organize the Independent Bankers’ Association of Texas (“IBAT”), and served as a Director of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. He remained active on the civic front, serving as Director of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, the Amarillo Art Center, the Panhandle Area Cancer Center, and a member of the Board of Stewards of the Polk Street Methodist Church. He continued his involvement with Rotary and Phi Delta Theta alumni organizations, as well as supporting the Foundation.
In 1970 he was named to the Amarillo Hospital District’s Board of Managers, and during the next few years he spearheaded the District’s bond campaign to fund construction of a new facility to replace the aging Northwest Texas Hospital. After the bond issue passed, due largely to his leadership in the campaign E.W. was named “Man of the Year” for 1976 by the Amarillo Globe News. He remained on the Board of Managers until 1982, and served as its Chairman from 1978 to 1981. During his tenure the present Northwest Texas Hospital facility at the Harrington Medical Center was planned and constructed, and began serving Amarillo and the surrounding area. In 1996, the E. W. Williams, Jr. / Centennial Bank Chair in Finance at Texas Tech University was endowed.
An avid hunter, outdoorsman and conservationist since he was a youth growing up in West Texas, over the course of his lifetime E.W. hunted and fished throughout the Americas and went on a number of safaris in different regions of Africa. He was a member and contributor to the Dallas Safari Club, the Dallas Ecological Foundation, and Shikar Safari Club International and its Foundation, all of which support educational and conservation projects worldwide.
To his many friends and business associates he was known to be fair, loyal and honorable, qualities we associate with the phrase, “always taking the high road.”
“Character,” E.W. was fond of saying, “is such that, when you agree to do something, you then do what you’ve agreed to, without exception.” Sometimes he would add, “…even if you don’t profit from it.”
His two sons remember their father as sometimes stern, sometimes jovial, often serious though also spontaneous and adventurous, but always a loving parent, counselor, mentor, and ultimately a close friend. His grandchildren variously describe him as…
Mary Anne predeceased E.W. in February, 2013, after over sixty years of marriage. They are survived by son E. W. Williams, III, of Dallas; son J. David Williams and his wife Amanda Barfield Williams of Kerrville; six grandchildren, including Rebecca Whitaker and her husband Andrew Whitaker of Miami, Florida; Liz Keator and husband Mark Keator of Lubbock; Lindsay Williams of Austin, Chelsea Williams of London, England, Hillary Williams of San Antonio, and James Williams of Lubbock; and two great-grandchildren, Laney and Emmie Keator of Lubbock.
A memorial service will be held at Polk Street United Methodist Church, 1401 South Polk Street in Amarillo at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 8, 2014, under the direction of Schooler Funeral Home. The Reverend Dr. Burt Palmer, Senior Pastor of the Polk Street United Methodist Church in Amarillo, will officiate. Burial will be at Llano Cemetery, Amarillo, Texas.
The family requests that memorials in honor of E.W. be sent to the Mary Anne and E. W. Williams, Jr. Endowment for Parkinson’s Disease Research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th St. Mail Stop 6238, Lubbock TX, 79430.
E. W. Williams, Jr., of Amarillo since 1969, and the Amarillo Globe News “Man of the Year” in 1976, died peacefully at his home on Saturday morning, May 3rd, 2014.
The only child of rancher Embry W. and Charlotte S. (Martin) Williams, E.W. was born on May 19th, 1927, at Post, Texas. He spent his early years living with his parents at their ranch near Post in Garza County, from which he rode his horse about five miles each morning to Grassburr School, where he attended first grade. The family moved into Post when he was seven, and he continued school there until high school, playing clarinet and basketball. He spent his high school years at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, where he continued to play basketball, completed training in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, and graduated in 1945 as Sergeant Major of the Corps, the highest rank available to high school cadets. With World War II drawing to a close, that same year he received an Honorable Discharge from the United States Army, then continued his education at Southern Methodist University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance at SMU in 1949, E. W. began his career as assistant cashier at the First National Bank in Grapevine, Texas.
He married his college sweetheart, Mary Anne Morrison of Dallas, on February 18, 1950, and the following year the first of their two sons was born. He was then an Assistant National Bank Examiner for the U. S. Treasury, and concurrently completed the curriculum of the School of Banking of the South at Louisiana State University, graduating in 1953. He joined the First National Bank in Lubbock as Assistant Cashier later that year, and subsequently became Vice-President and Director. In 1956 he graduated from the American Bankers Association Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University, and around this time he also earned a Private Pilot certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. In 1961 he became President/CEO and Director of Citizens National Bank in Lubbock, and later Chairman of the Board. During his years in Lubbock, he also became involved as a Director, organizer or officer in additional banking and other business and trade organizations, including the First National Bank in Post, the Idalou State Bank, T.I.M.E. Motor Freight, Hale County State Bank (“HCSB”) in Plainview and Citizens State Bank in Slaton, Texas, Citizens State Bank in Springer, New Mexico, the South Plains, Texas and American Bankers Associations, and various clearing house organizations. A Mason since 1958 (York Rite Knight Templar, Shrine and 32nd degree Scottish Rite), he volunteered his time and expertise to numerous civic and charitable organizations, including the SMU and Texas Tech Foundations, American Red Cross, YMCA and Boy Scouts, PTA, Rotary, the Lubbock Mental Health Center and County Society for Crippled Children, St. Mary’s Hospital and the First Methodist Church.
In 1969 the Williams family moved to Amarillo when E.W. joined the Amarillo National Bank, where he became Executive Vice-President and Vice-Chairman of the Board. During and after his years with Amarillo National, he continued serving as Chairman of the Board at both HCSB in Plainview and Citizens Bank in Slaton, which progressively expanded to serve numerous communities in the Texas Panhandle, South Plains and Hill Country, and in 2013 merged to form Centennial Bank. In 1977 he briefly served as Senior Board Chairman of the Liberty National Bank in Lovington, New Mexico, and in 1982 he helped organize both the National Bank of Commerce in Pampa and First Bank / Las Colinas in Irving, Texas, then he served as a Director of both organizations for the next few years. In 1986 he became a Director of the First National Bank of New Mexico in Clayton, which has since grown to serve a number of communities in northeastern New Mexico, and until recently he served as Board Chairman of the related holding company. That same year he first became involved with the Coyote Lake Feedyard in Muleshoe, Texas, where he served as Chairman. Between 1986 and 2000 he also served as a Director of Furr’s/Bishop’s, Inc., based in Lubbock, and from 1984 to 2000 as Director and Chairman of the Bank of Commerce in McLean, Texas. In addition to these “day jobs,” until a few years ago E.W. continued to manage and expand the ranch his father started in Garza County. In 1974, he helped organize the Independent Bankers’ Association of Texas (“IBAT”), and served as a Director of the Texas Cattle Feeders Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. He remained active on the civic front, serving as Director of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, the Amarillo Art Center, the Panhandle Area Cancer Center, and a member of the Board of Stewards of the Polk Street Methodist Church. He continued his involvement with Rotary and Phi Delta Theta alumni organizations, as well as supporting the Foundation.
In 1970 he was named to the Amarillo Hospital District’s Board of Managers, and during the next few years he spearheaded the District’s bond campaign to fund construction of a new facility to replace the aging Northwest Texas Hospital. After the bond issue passed, due largely to his leadership in the campaign E.W. was named “Man of the Year” for 1976 by the Amarillo Globe News. He remained on the Board of Managers until 1982, and served as its Chairman from 1978 to 1981. During his tenure the present Northwest Texas Hospital facility at the Harrington Medical Center was planned and constructed, and began serving Amarillo and the surrounding area. In 1996, the E. W. Williams, Jr. / Centennial Bank Chair in Finance at Texas Tech University was endowed.
An avid hunter, outdoorsman and conservationist since he was a youth growing up in West Texas, over the course of his lifetime E.W. hunted and fished throughout the Americas and went on a number of safaris in different regions of Africa. He was a member and contributor to the Dallas Safari Club, the Dallas Ecological Foundation, and Shikar Safari Club International and its Foundation, all of which support educational and conservation projects worldwide.
To his many friends and business associates he was known to be fair, loyal and honorable, qualities we associate with the phrase, “always taking the high road.”
“Character,” E.W. was fond of saying, “is such that, when you agree to do something, you then do what you’ve agreed to, without exception.” Sometimes he would add, “…even if you don’t profit from it.”
His two sons remember their father as sometimes stern, sometimes jovial, often serious though also spontaneous and adventurous, but always a loving parent, counselor, mentor, and ultimately a close friend. His grandchildren variously describe him as…
Mary Anne predeceased E.W. in February, 2013, after over sixty years of marriage. They are survived by son E. W. Williams, III, of Dallas; son J. David Williams and his wife Amanda Barfield Williams of Kerrville; six grandchildren, including Rebecca Whitaker and her husband Andrew Whitaker of Miami, Florida; Liz Keator and husband Mark Keator of Lubbock; Lindsay Williams of Austin, Chelsea Williams of London, England, Hillary Williams of San Antonio, and James Williams of Lubbock; and two great-grandchildren, Laney and Emmie Keator of Lubbock.
A memorial service will be held at Polk Street United Methodist Church, 1401 South Polk Street in Amarillo at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 8, 2014, under the direction of Schooler Funeral Home. The Reverend Dr. Burt Palmer, Senior Pastor of the Polk Street United Methodist Church in Amarillo, will officiate. Burial will be at Llano Cemetery, Amarillo, Texas.
The family requests that memorials in honor of E.W. be sent to the Mary Anne and E. W. Williams, Jr. Endowment for Parkinson’s Disease Research at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, 3601 4th St. Mail Stop 6238, Lubbock TX, 79430.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of E.W. Williams Jr, please visit our flower store.