Richard L. Williams

Richard Loran Williams Born July 24, 1921 to Ernest L. Williams and Viola May (Smith) Williams in Albia, Iowa. The family, including younger sister, Martha L., moved to Atchison, KS when Richard was young where his father had a photography business. Richard held a number of jobs while in school, including being a grocery store clerk. He remembers his employer sending him to Texas by himself as a young teen via bus to drive the stores stolen delivery truck home. Richards stop at the Texas State Fair in Ft. Worth while returning was a highlight of that experience. He recalls getting his drivers license at the courthouse. The sheriff asked his father if he could drive. His dad said yes and that was enough to get the license. He attended Ingalls Jr. and Sr. High Schools in Atchison, graduating in May 1939. He worked as a service station attendant for two years before attending the National Defense School at Wichitas East High School, worked briefly for Boeing, then joined the United States Armys Air Force in October 1942. Thus, began a lifelong passion for airplanes. Richard was stationed in England during the war and worked as an aircraft mechanic and ground crew chief. He recalls getting ready for the D-Day invasion, and specifically scrambling all night to get black stripes painted on the tails and wings of Allied Forces aircraft. He remembers the spectacle of shot up planes returning from France and how chaotic those times were. He was honorably discharged in November 1945. After a series of jobs with TWA, Boeing, Beech, The Air Force, Kansas Air National Guard and others after the war, he began a career at Boeing in 1951 that lasted until 1965. Much of that time he was the ground crew chief for experimental craft flight testing. He took much pride in always presenting a plane that was ready to fly and met pilots expectations. From 1965 until late 1983, he was a mechanic at Beech Aircraft in Wichita. He married Erma James and made their home in southeast Wichita with her son, Lynn. Both are deceased. Richard enjoyed dancing most of his life. He told of driving from his home in Atchison and later from Wichita on weekends to dance at clubs across the Missouri River. In his retirement, he continued to dance at Wichitas senior centers. That is where he met his eventual wife, Jean. They married in January 2005 and continued to dance for more than a decade and to enjoy a circle of friends at the senior rec centers. He and Jean made numerous trips together, traveling to Hawaii twice, Alaska, the Caribbean, New York, Washington D.C. and other domestic destinations. They enjoyed gardening together and were active in Woodland United Methodist Church. Visitation with family will be at 1:00 pm, followed by Funeral Service will be at 2:00 pm, Saturday, December 1, 2018, both at Downing & Lahey West Mortuary. A private burial will follow at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Peabody, KS. Memorials have been established with Woodland United Methodist Church, 1100 W. 15th St. N., Wichita, KS 67203 and Kansas Aviation Museum, 3350 S. George Washington Blvd., Wichita, KS 67210.