Joe Anderson Williams

Joe Anderson Williams, born June3, 1931, passed away August 2, 2022 in Tullahoma, TN at age 91.  Mr. Williams is survived by two sons, Andy (John Morris) of Memphis, and Tom (Kim) of Huntsville, AL; a daughter, Linda Binkley (Mark) of Cary, NC, five grandchildren, and a sister, Shirley Williams Miller, of Knoxville.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Frances, parents Byron and Maggie Williams, and a sister, Jean Williams, all of Tullahoma.

Born and raised in Tullahoma, he graduated from South Jackson Street School in 1945 and Tullahoma High School in 1949.  Furthering his education, he received a B.S. degree in Business Management in 1953 from Tennessee Tech and a J.D. degree from the Nashville School of Law in 1976.

When he graduated from Tennessee Tech, he also was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.  He then served two years on active duty from 1954-56, at Fort Monmouth, NJ and Camp Gordon, GA, leaving the service as a first lieutenant.  Afterwards he returned to Tullahoma, where he worked for over 37 years with ARO, Inc., which changed its corporate identity to Sverdrup Technology, Inc. 13 years before he retired in 1993 as Corporate Counsel and Director, Human Resources.  After receiving his law degree he also privately practiced law on a part-time basis.

Mr. Williams was involved in many civic endeavors, including the Board of Directors of the AEDC Federal Credit Union, of which he was chairman, 1975-78; the Board of Directors of the Tullahoma Industrial Board, of which he was chairman, 1982-85; and the Board of Directors of the South Jackson Civic Association, of which he was president, 1993-94.  After he retired from Sverdrup he provided pro bono work legal services to several local churches and charitable organizations.

A member of First United Methodist Church since 1952, he was an active member and served on many local church organizations; he is a former chairman of the church's Council on Ministries, Administrative Board, and Board of Trustees, and served as president of the United Methodist Men, church lay leader, and adult Sunday School teacher.  Following his retirement from Sverdrup, his Christian service was devoted primarily to the Murfreesboro District and Tennessee Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church; he was a lay delegate to the UMC General Conferences in 1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008; served as Murfreesboro District Lay Leader, 1996-2003; and was chair of the Tennessee Conference Together We Can capital funds campaign, 1999-2002.  The Tennessee Annual Conference of the UMC dedicated its 2003 Journal to him. He also was a member of the Tullahoma Noon Rotary Club, both he and his wife being Paul Harris Fellows.

Joe's family wishes to express their heartfelt and sincere gratitude to all of the wonderful staff at Morning Pointe for the love and care they have shown Dad for the past seven years and to the Avalon Hospice team for their support during his final days.

A memorial service for Joe will be held at First United Methodist Church in Tullahoma, TN on August 7 at 2 PM.     Memorial donations to either Beersheba Springs Assembly or the Tennessee Tech Wesley Foundation are suggested in lieu of flowers.

Tullahoma Funeral Home is honored to serve the Williams family.