Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Retired Chief Justice William H. Williams Memorial

During its annual memorial service, the Washington Supreme Court will honor former Chief Justice William H. Williams on Thursday, May 2^nd at a service beginning at 9 a.m. in the Temple of Justice in Olympia. 

Williams passed away on July 25 in his hometown of Spokane, and is survived by his wife Ruth and five children.  Williams served on the Supreme Court from 1979 until 1985, becoming Chief Justice in 1983.  Prior to his election to the Court, he served more than twenty years on the Spokane County Superior Court Bench, from 1958-1979.  

Having served with Williams as a superior court judge, Chief Justice Gerry Alexander commented on the loss of a widely respected jurist.  “I admired him immensely and believe he was an outstanding superior court judge and Supreme Court justice,” recalled Alexander.

Williams was raised in Spokane, attending the University of Idaho after graduating from Lewis and Clark High.  As a collegiate boxer, he won the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Boxing Championship just prior to World War II. 

His undergraduate studies were interrupted by the war when he enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, where he became a pilot and flew twenty-six combat missions over Germany as a B-24 pilot.  After the war he resumed his studies at the University of Idaho, proceeding to Gonzaga Law School for his legal education.

Supreme Court Administrative Rules provide for a memorial service to be held each year during the first week of May to conduct memorial services for members or former members of the Supreme Court who have died within the preceding year.

For further biographical information, please contact the number listed above.    

CONTACT:   Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, Washington Supreme Court 360-357-2029.

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