Don Williams

He was born in Bisbee, Arizona on Nov 4, 1943. Preceding him in death are his loving wife Carlene and his parents Irvin (Paddlefoot) and Josie, his brother Kenneth and his sister Joyce.

He is survived by his 2 children, daughter, Dee Dee, grandsons Brian and Derek; son Kevin, grandchildren Sophie, Alex, Ethan and Alexandra.

He married his high school sweetheart Carlene Williams on June 21, 1962.

He joined the US Air Force July 6, 1961 and was stationed at Castle Air Force Base in Merced California and served until Jul 2 1965. His love of dogs began there as he served as dog trainer and handler in the Air Force.

His daughter Dee Dee was born on May 1, 1963 at Castle Air Force Base Hospital, Merced, California.

After his USAF service, Don moved back to his hometown of Bisbee with his wife and daughter. Although his family had worked in the mine, he decided to be a firefighter until he joined the DPS academy.

His son Kevin was born on June 14, 1967 in Bisbee AZ

While serving with the Bisbee Fire Department, he met Highway Patrolman Ed Felix #682, who was stationed there in late 1970. Ed's wife Elaine worked with Don's wife Carlene at the local Sears store, so once Ed met Don, he encouraged him to join the DPS, which he did. Ed subsequently transferred to Phoenix but the two families stayed in touch once Don was in the academy, after he was stationed in Winslow and in the years ever since. We owe Ed and Elaine a great debt of gratitude for getting Don and Carlene introduced to the DPS family. Don was a member of DPS Academy Class 20, which began on August 1, 1972. Don was assigned to Winslow in the academy, so he came to Winslow to get his On the Job Training done with Ptlm “Big” George McGuire #231.

That was when I met him as did Bob(Zero) Varner #438. We teased him unmercifully about his high 4 digit badge number (#1096) when the rest of us had low 3 digit numbers. After graduating from the academy, the three of us veterans helped them get moved in and settled and provided mentoring for Don through his early years with the department. That relationship has continued to this day, even though we lost Bob in the line of duty 32 years ago. Bob's nickname for Don was Coffee Don, due to the huge amounts of coffee he could consume! I asked him early on what the “L” stood for on his “L.D. Williams” nametag. He quietly replied “Lewis”. So after that, I usually called him Lewis Don, even though he never used his first name unless he had to. It was a term of endearment between us. George McGuire served as FTO for Don's son Kevin #4588 in late 1991 when Kevin was assigned to Winslow, furthering that friendship even more. One of the proudest moments in Don’s life was when he was able to pin Kevin’s DPS badge on his chest.

When the Department's Driver Training program was implemented in late 1974 and early 1975 I was given the task of running it and Don was one of my original instructors along with Roger Boddy, Jim Charles, Doug Henderson and Ken Lindley. During the next few years, Don divided his time between HP duties and driving instructor. Don eventually moved to Phoenix, assigned to Training and took over the program as the chief instructor, updating it and putting the program on all around the state until he retired on October 26, 1992 after 25 total years in service to the citizens of Arizona. This basic program, even though updated for newer vehicle technology and driving methods, still exists today, over 46 years after this initial group of 5 Arizona Highway Patrolmen designed and implemented it on a shoestring string budget. We Were Good!

To Dee Dee, Kevin and your families, we loved your father and we will miss him. Thanks you for giving me the honor to address this group of his friends and family. He now rests with your Mom and his family who have gone on before him. He will be missed! Rest in Peace Lewis Don!