Walter Williams

December 6, 1925 - January 9, 2017

Walter Paul Williams, 91, of Glen Ridge NJ passed away on Jan. 9, 2017, peacefully, in his sleep, at his home. Walt was born in Pittston, PA, on December 6, 1925, the fifth of eight children. He grew up in the coal region near Wilkes-Barre during the depression. Soon after Pearl Harbor, he joined the Navy as a Radioman. After the war, he attended East Stroudsburg State Teachers College, where he met Jean May; they were married in 1954. Walt was very athletic, and participated, refereed, and coached many sports at various levels, including basketball, track and field, and most notably, football. After teaching and coaching in Pennsylvania and East Orange, he took a job as the first football coach at Wayne Hills High School, and retired as chairman of the Phys Ed. Department decades later. Every summer since the late 1950’s, he was the pool director at the Glen Ridge Country Club, where he taught swimming lessons to hundreds of people. His wife kept him busy doing projects for the Pilgrim Nursery School at the Glen Ridge Congregational Church, where he played Santa Claus every Christmas for 30 years. After he retired from teaching, he joined the Glen Ridge Volunteer Ambulance Squad. He is survived by his son Todd, daughter-in-law Wendy, and grandchildren Parker and Audrey of Thousand Oaks, CA. He was preceded in death by his son Teddy in 2001 and his wife Jean in 2004. Visitation, Saturday, January 14, 9AM – noon, Van Tassel Funeral Home, 337 Belleville Ave, Bloomfield, NJ. Memorial service Saturday January 14, 1pm, Glen Ridge Congregational Church, 195 Ridgewood Ave, Glen Ridge, NJ.