Ralph 0. Williams Jr.
Ralph 0. Williams Jr., of Orient, died on Friday, May 31, 2002 at the
Eastern Long Island Hospital after a long battle with cancer. He
struggled to remain active, but finally succumbed to pneumoma.
Mr. Williams was born on November 27, 1920 in the Bronx, NY to
Ralph & and Bessy Magee Williams.
He was brought up in Keanesburg, NJ. He attended Cooper Union in New York City until he volunteered for the US
Army Signal Corps in 1943. He graduated from OCS and continued more advanced schooling at
Harvard and MIT. He served a long tour of duty in China with a radar unit.
After the war, he continued his education at Northeastern University where
he graduated in 1947 with a BSEE. He joined the General Electric
Co., working in aerospace; initially out of Syracuse, NY, then
White Sands, NM. He then managed field service units in Cape Kennedy and
Vandenberg Air Base; later becoming a senior systems engineer at
the Re-entry Systems Department of GE in Philadelphia, where be worked for 16 years until
his retirement in 1980. During his time in Philadelphia, he earned a master’s degree in
engineering science from Pennsylvania State University.
|
Mr. Williams and his wife bought and restored her family homestead — The Terry-MulfordHouse in Orient. Mr.
Williams became an active volunteer in Southold Town and Orient. He was a member of the
Landmarks Commission for 20 years, a director of the Suffolk County Historical Society, a founder
and active member of Peconic Amateur Radio Club, and a favorite teacher in the AARP
55-Alive driving classes.
He was a collector
and leading authority on antique radios; having written and published numerous articles and
a book.
He is survived by his wife, Elinor, a sister, Ruth Lindsay of Phoenicia, NY;
seven children, 14 grandchildren, and four great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at the Methodist Church in Orient
on June 29.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction,
of the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes of Southold.
A request of no flowers please; donations to the Suffolk County
Historical Society.
|