PARIS, Tenn. (AP) - Retired editor and publisher William Bryant “Bill” Williams Jr. died after suffering a stroke, The Post-Intelligencer of Paris, Tennessee, reported. He was 85.
Williams battled Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body dementia for three years before the stroke on Wednesday, the newspaper reported. He died Thursday in Paris.
Williams started as a newspaper carrier while a high school student and eventually worked his way up to editor and publisher, retiring in 1999. He continued to write editorials until 2016. He also spent three years at The Tullahoma News and worked briefly at The Memphis Press-Scimitar after college.
He became editor and publisher at the retirement of his father, the late Bryant Williams. Bryant Williams had taken over as publisher at the retirement in 1967 of his father, the late W. Percy Williams, who had come from Alabama to purchase The P-I in 1927.
One of the things Bill Williams said he enjoyed about his work was that at the end of each day, he was able to hold a paper in his hands and say, “Here’s what we did today.”
Williams was also an active leader in many clubs and civic organizations in Paris and Henry County. He served in the Army after college.
The funeral will be at 3 p.m. Sunday with visitation from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, all at First Presbyterian Church in Paris, where he served as an elder for 52 years.
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