Roy Robert "Red" Williams

Graveside service: Roy will be laid to rest in Moore Memorial Gardens in Arlington, alongside his wife of 66 years.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Park Row Church of Christ, 915 W. Park Row, Arlington, Texas 76013, or a charity of choice.

Roy was born in Abernathy, on May 15, 1922, to Emmitt and Pearl Crow Williams. He and his twin brother were the youngest of seven siblings raised on a rural farm. Upon graduation from Abernathy High School in 1940, Roy was awarded an athletic scholarship and enrolled in Texas Technological College. He proved to be a gifted athlete, lettering in football, basketball and track before and after serving as an officer in the Navy during World War II. Following his return from the service in 1946, Roy married Mary Sue Smith Williams and graduated from Tech in 1947. He subsequently served as a high school teacher and athletic coach for a few years in both Cleburne and Fort Worth, during which time he earned a master's degree from Texas Christian University in 1952. In 1954, he moved his young family to Arlington to embark on a career in the insurance business. In 1972, he and Sue relocated to the Arlington suburb of Dalworthington Gardens, where he cultivated his passion for gardening and pursued his lifelong zeal for fishing and the outdoors. Roy was a generous and loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He and Sue were charter members of Park Row Church of Christ and attended for over 50 years. He was loyal to his church and friends, never met anyone he considered to be a stranger, and was always the life of any social or family gathering. In later years, he particularly enjoyed taking any one of his three red-headed grandsons on Saturday errands and, accompanied by Sue, watching them perform in a wide variety of sports and musical events nearly every week. The family wishes to extend gratitude to the Memory Care staff and caregivers at the Isle at Watercrest in Mansfied for the excellent care Roy received during the final two years of his life.

Roy was preceded in death by his devoted wife; parents; and siblings, Pauline Adkisson, Thelma Adkisson, Vida Adkisson, Zanette Elkins, Lazelle Dickens and Troy Williams.

Survivors: Son, Dr. Larry Williams and wife, Dr. Vickie Geisel; daughter, Suzanne Williams Bunte and husband, Fred Bunte; grandsons, Sam Bunte and wife, Amy, Jay Bunte and wife, Ellen, and Benjamin Bunte; great-grandchildren, Lane Bunte and Allison Bunte; sisters-in-law, Winnie Williams and Jean Smith; and many beloved nieces and nephews.