Name: James P. Williams
Born: July 30, 1931
Died: September 22, 2022 (91)
MC Member: September 24, 2002 (19)
James Park Williams, 91, of Surprise, Ariz., passed away Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, at Hospice of the Valley, after a brief illness.
Born July 30, 1931, Jim grew up in Grosse Pointe and attended public school, eventually meeting his future wife at Grosse Pointe High School — “The High” — from which he graduated in 1949.
Childhood summers were always spent with family at Walloon Lake. In 1953, Jim graduated from Hillsdale College with a degree in economics and was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Immediately following college, Jim and his brother, Jack, were caravan drivers for Chet Sampson’s “Western Tours,” which visited national parks, movie and television studios and Bing Crosby’s ranch.
Jim enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the Signal Corps from 1953 to 1955. He continued to advance his love of photography as a member of the Camera Corps and received advanced training as a combat motion picture photographer.
In 1955, Jim went to work at the J.L. Hudson department store in downtown Detroit. He became a buyer in the men’s department across the company, which involved annual six-week trips to Europe and Asia with Ann. He retired from Hudson in 1982, and initiated his successful career at Bolton-Johnson Realtors until he retired in 2004.
He loved his extended family, the Grosse Pointes, weekends and picnics at the Farms Pier, and sailing or boating on Lake St. Clair. He was a 70-plus-year member of Grosse Pointe Memorial Church, serving on the Board of Trustees, Nominating Committee and as an usher. In 1997, he served as president of the Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors, was Michigan Association of Realtors Realtor of the Year and, in 2003, received the Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors Frederick G. Scully Memorial Award for career service.
Ann and Jim were actively involved in planning the Grosse Pointe High School Class of 1949 reunion every five years. They planned and attended their 70-year reunion in 2019. He was an active member of the Grosse Pointe Senior Men’s Club until relocating to Arizona in 2004.
Upon arrival in Surprise, Ariz., Jim traded his snow shovel for sunshine, grandkids, golf courses and bowling alleys with family, friends and visitors. He was an affiliate member of Desert Palms Presbyterian Church and volunteered at Banner Del Webb Medical Center.
“Papa” will be missed by his family and many friends, including those from grade school, high school, college and workplaces.
Jim was predeceased by his wife, Ann, to whom he was married for 63 years. Jim is survived by his children, James “Jay” (Kim) of Carefree, Ariz., and Catherine Deevy of Barrington, Ill.; and grandchildren, Cody (Kelsey), Jessen, Jorie, Saige and Tanner.
A memorial will be held at Grosse Pointe Memorial Church in Grosse Pointe Farms at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Jim’s memory may be made to Lymphangiomatosis and Gorham’s Disease Alliance — lgdalliance.org — to help fund research supporting his grandson, Tanner Williams.