JIM WARD WILLIAMS,

79, of Maumelle passed away on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. He was born August 11, 1944, in Fort Smith, Ark., to Ann and Alf Williams.

He graduated from the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at the University he was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity, and his junior year was co-editor of the 1965 Razorback yearbook.

Mr. Williams was a member of the Arkansas Army National Guard for 24 years; the last five years as First Sergeant of 2nd Battalion, 142nd Field Artillery in Fort Smith.

During the 1970s he was co-chairman of the Fort Smith Bicentennial Commission and was appointed by Governor David Pryor to the Arkansas Bicentennial Celebration Commission. His Bicentennial work in Fort Smith lead to his receipt of an Award of Exceptional Accomplishment from the Arkansas Community Development Program.

As a life-long Episcopalian, he served as an acolyte at St. John’s in Fort Smith during his youth, Senior Warden at St. Bartholomew’s in Fort Smith, treasurer of St. James in Eureka Springs, and, more recently, was a Lay Eucharistic Minister at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Little Rock. He was a regular, weekly volunteer at St. Francis House and at the St. Mark’s Food Pantry.

While in Fort Smith, he served on a Fort Smith Auditorium Review Commission. He is a past-board member of the Fort Smith Art Center, the Fort Smith Museum of History, and the Old Fort Days Rodeo - Arkansas/Oklahoma State Fair Board.

He worked in marketing and advertising for 40-plus years, winning the American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award in 1980. His last position held prior to retirement was Executive Director of the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission.

Mr. Williams is survived by his wife of 43 years, Joan Correll Williams; his sons, Jim Jr. of Augusta, W. Va., and Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Breen Williams of Alexandria, Va.; and two daughters, Carolyn Williams of Roanoke, Va., and Jill Lorge (Mark) of Sherwood, Ark. Additional survivors are his brother, Alf Williams (Janie); and sister, Phoebe Kutait, all of Little Rock; and seven grandchildren, Gage Williams, Blake Morton, William and J. D. Colbert, and Ellie, Jack, and Miles Lorge.

A memorial service will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church at 1000 North Mississippi at 1 p.m. Tuesday, February 6th, 2024. A reception will follow in the St. Mark’s Parish Hall. A family interment service is planned at an earlier date.

Memorials may be made to St. Francis House, 2701 South Elm, Little Rock, Ark. 72204, or St. Mark’s Food Pantry, 1000 North Mississippi, Little Rock, Ark. 72207.