Ralph Watson Williams, Jr. ’55

Ralph Watson Williams, Jr. ’55 died on Dec. 5 after a battle with kidney cancer. He is survived by his wife, Almonese “Nesie” Brown Clifton Williams, 3504 Dumbarton Rd. NW, Atlanta, GA 30327-2614; his three children, Lt. Col. Ralph W. Williams III USAF (Ret) (Mary), Nancy Jane Williams Morizio (Michael) and their sons, Michael and Matthew, and John Martin Hicks Williams II (Susan) and their daughter, Nancy Morga; his three stepchildren, Deborah Clifton Van der Lande and her children, Heather, Bernard, and Ashley, Nancy Clifton Kinzer (Mark) and their children, Emily and Ben, and Brad Clifton (Carolyn) and their children, Grace and Thomas Watson; and his sister, Judy Williams Ellis. A native of Atlanta, and an original “Buckhead Boy,” Ralph was born July 2, 1933. He was the son of Ralph Watson Williams, Sr. and Minnie Hicks Williams. He was the brother of the late Charner Williams Creecy and John Martin Hicks Williams I. He graduated from Sewanee Military Academy, attended Davidson, and graduated from the University of Georgia in 1955, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He married Nancy Jo Morgan in March 1955. Nancy died Dec. 12, 1989. He began his career in the investment business in 1955, joining the municipal bond department of Courts & Co. He then moved to First Southeastern Co., which was purchased by Francis I. DuPont & Co. in 1960. Ralph served as the branch manager of the Atlanta office of Francis I. DuPont & Co. and became a general partner in 1970. He was subsequently appointed to the board of directors and was a member of the executive committee, continuing on in that capacity with the successor company, DuPont, Glore, Forgan & Co. He moved to E. F. Hutton & Co. and served as executive vice president and a member of the board of directors. In 1987, the company was bought by Shearson Lehman Bros., where he continued on as executive vice president. He retired in December 1988. He was an allied member of the NYSE, a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, a member of the board of directors of the GA Security Dealers Association, the chairman and a member of the district committee of the National Association of Security Dealers, and an arbitrator for the NYSE and the Association of Security Dealers. He served on the board of trustees of Saint Andrew’s-Sewanee School, as well as being the chairman of the finance committee, treasurer, and an executive committee member. He also shared a loving bond with LaGrange College. He served on the board of trustees, and was a member of the executive committee of the joint fund for the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology. He served as a member of the board of stewards at Peachtree Road Methodist Church and on the finance committee at Northside Methodist Church. He was also a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church.