Wilbur Weaver Williams

Wilbur W. "Bilbo" Williams, age 88, passed away in his sleep on August 18, 2017. He was preceded in death by his wife DeEtte McKeithen Williams, his parents Bill Williams and Rose Brockner Williams, his sister Billie Perlman, and his brother John Wesley Williams. He is survived by his sister Elva George of Phoenix, AZ; sons Bill and wife Betsy, John and wife Sallie, Brock and wife Susan, Stan and wife Lisa, Ben and wife Pam; 19 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. Mr. Williams was born on November 9, 1928 in Olla, LA. His family moved from one oil field boomtown to another during the Depression, before eventually landing in Baton Rouge in 1939. A graduate of both Baton Rouge High and Louisiana State University, Mr. Williams began his professional career as a petroleum engineer with Shell Oil Co. in Donaldsonville. He then moved his family to Southeast Texas, where he worked in and around Beaumont for over 15 years, before returning to Baton Rouge to manage Williams Drilling Company. In the late 1970s he began his affiliation with C. B. "Doc" Pennington. While Vice President of Pennington Oil Co. he also served in various capacities for banks and other institutions. Among those was the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, which without his calm, steadying hand likely would not exist today. He began his devotion to the LSU Tigers as a grade-schooler selling cokes at Tiger Stadium in the 1930s. The LSU campus was also where he met his future wife of 66 years, DeEtte, who passed away late last year. He raised 5 sons, saw them all grow and prosper and give him another generation of grandchildren to bask in his twinkling eye and prep to be a third generation of future Tigers. Visitation will be on Monday, 8/21 at 11:00 AM at Greenoaks Funeral Home in Baton Rouge followed by a graveside service at 12:00 PM.