The final note of Ken Williams
Ken Williams was many things to many people. He was a loving husband, a caring father, a dedicated colleague and to anyone who’s taken band class at Malvern in the last 32 years, he was their fearless leader.
Williams died in a traffic accident on Interstate 30 Tuesday, April 26 near mile marker 86. He had stopped to help a motorist who had wrecked into a semi-truck when he was struck by a vehicle.
The Malvern School District took to social media the following day to announce the tragedy of his heroic death.
“Tragically, we lost one of our own last night when longtime band director Ken Williams passed away in a car accident. Mr. Williams was dedicated and passionate about band and seeing his students succeed both musically and in life,” said the district. “Our condolences are with the Williams family and we ask that you keep the Williams family, district coworkers and all of Mr. Williams current and former students in your thoughts.”
Williams was from Van Buren, and had worked in music education for almost 40 years, starting at Gravette School District and moving to the Prairie Grove School District before settling in Malvern. He graduated from Van Buren High School and went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas and his master’s from UCA. He was a member of the Razorback Marching Band and assisted with the UCA Marching Band while in grad school.
“He knew he wanted to be a band director the first time he stepped in the band hall at Van Buren Jr. High,” said the late Williams’ wife, Cindy. “He never considered any other profession. He loved his job, the kids and the people he worked with.”
Williams met Cindy at a faculty meeting at the Prairie Grove School District. She was a speech therapist at the elementary school while he was the high school band director. The couple had two adult children, Grant Williams and Grace Ann Church.
The couple met in the fall of 1986 and were married in Aug. 1988.
“Him and our mom put both of us in piano lessons as children,” said Church. “And he pushed me to stick with it. When I moved schools in middle school, I was in band for a year and he always wanted to help me practice my clarinet. And even when I quit band, he was still encouraging and supportive of my interest in choir, drama, whatever it was.”
In his last few years at Malvern, he had mentioned retiring at the end of each school year. Yet, the next year, he was still there doing what he loved.
“He planned to retire on paper after this school year and continue to work for at least two more years,” Cindy said. “He really never wanted to actually retire. He loved music and didn’t understand why everyone wasn’t as dedicated as he was. For him, it was pure fun.”
On May 3, the Malvern High School Band played their Spring Concert in honor of Williams. The band was led by Jon Stevenson, who is the Malvern Middle School Band director.
“The students and I realize that Mr. Williams would’ve wanted us to have the concert no matter what,” said Stevenson. “I just wanted them to have the opportunity to perform and dedicating the concert to him seems like the appropriate way to go.”
Three groups performed in the concert. The beginning band, the eighth grade band, and the high school band.
The song list included “Celebration” by Randall Standridge, “Midnight Sky” by Brian Balmages, “American Verses” by Timothy Broege and several more.
“It’s really touching that they dedicated that concert to him,” said Church. “He worked really hard every year to make sure all of his students were ready for concert, competition, football games, whatever it was. He wanted to make sure that every kid lived up to the potential he saw in them. He was the same with us growing up. He saw potential in us in whatever it was we were doing and pushed us to do the absolute best we could. He always held us accountable for stuff. We almost never got away with stuff as little kids.”
The many colleagues and friends he’s worked with across the state have shared memories and accounts of Williams’ character and personality. Some of the students he’s taught have gone on to pursue music careers of their own, such as Bryson Clegg, who was the MHS Band drum major from 2013-2015. Clegg got a bachelor’s degree in music education in 2019 from OBU and is currently finishing up graduate school at Texas A&M University-commerce, where he studied music performance.
Clegg remembers that Williams wanted the band to be family oriented. The members of the band were not performing for Williams, but he wanted the students to understand that they were performing for the people on either side of them.
“He always instilled the importance of being on time and making sure that we would be prepared in all aspects,” said Clegg. “We would always start rehearsal 10 minutes early and he would always say, ‘Rehearsal starts when? 7:50.’”
Williams’ principles and leadership come in large part from his faith in Jesus Christ.
At the age of six, he would dress up and walk to the Methodist Church in downtown Van Buren. and at 12, he joined their adult choir. During college he was saved and committed his life to Jesus at a Josh Mcdowell conference.
“Faith was everything to him,” said Church.” He was always ready to share Jesus with anyone and everyone. Everything he did, he wanted it to be in line with God’s will. He strived so hard to be like Jesus and his death shows that. He was so confident in his sense of humor even with the cheesiest of dad jokes. And he could make a friend anywhere. Always starting up small talk with strangers in line.”
Williams leaves behind a legacy here in Malvern and in the hearts of the many people he’s impacted during his 60 years on this earth.
“The most important thing about Ken was that he never cared about results or anything from a marching or concert competition,” Clegg said. “He told us in high school and even when I worked there, ‘We only care about getting better every day.’ That was the biggest goal of his for the students was that they could find ways to be a better musician. That’s what he should be remembered for. He really embodied what a true teacher was. Getting students to be better than what they were the day before.”