THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409020622
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
The wail of a lone bagpipe quietly faded at noon Thursday as the fire truck's engine sputtered to life in a throaty growl.
For three days, firefighters and rescue workers had polished the truck's chrome until each piece glistened like a jewel in the bright afternoon sun.
Firefighters in dress blue uniforms and rescue workers in starched white wiped away tears as the engine, draped in somber black bunting, pulled out of the Haygood United Methodist Church parking lot, its red strobes flickering.
In the truck's bed, a flag-draped casket carried the body of former volunteer Fire Chief James S. Williams Sr.
The two-mile processional of family, friends and colleagues ambled through the city, past intersections blocked with hulking pumper trucks, their crews standing at attention.
Under the outstretched ladders of two fire trucks, their aluminum arms intersecting high above the road at Woodlawn Memorial Gardens, the engine bearing Williams' body eased to a stop. The city's firefighters and rescue workers were about to bury one of their own.
Jim Williams, 56, died of cancer Sunday. His life was one of service - 20 years in the Navy; 28 years in the Davis Corner Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad.
``It's difficult when we lose anybody,'' said Davis Corner's current chief, Bill Laws. ``But with Jim and his wife as key members, this is going to take some getting used to.''
Williams joined the Davis Corner department in May 1966 after a Navy transfer. For several years, the Vietnam veteran served both the military and the Aragona community until he retired from the Navy.
Because Williams wasn't a local, he fought to earn the respect of the other firefighters and rescue workers who called the city home. He earned the respect and became part of the community, settling into a ranch home just a block from the Davis Corner station.
Colleagues said he attained the rank of chief through an informal promotion system that rewarded members like Williams who knew the most, worked the hardest and believed the deepest.
``Jim was one of those guys that is always nice to be around, under all circumstances,'' Laws said.
In 1976, Williams became a life member of the Davis Corner station. In 1983, he stopped going on runs with the rescue squad, he stopped chasing fires. He never stopped giving advice and guidance, station members said.
``He still came to all the social events,'' said a Davis Corner firefighter. ``All the officers and chiefs since him went to him for advice. He was a textbook of knowledge. He had worlds of experience.''
For the past 18 months, Williams served on a city panel that reviewed accidents involving emergency vehicles.
Williams, born in Pontiac, Mich., is survived by his mother, Mildred Chase Williams; his wife, Janice Williams; two daughters, Jeryl Barnett of Norfolk and Jane Cheslock of Richmond; two sons, Jeffrey Barnett of Norfolk and James S. Williams Jr. of Virginia Beach; two sisters, Janice Honeycutt of Albuquerque, N.M., and Carol Webster of Lake, Mich.; two brothers, Charles Williams of Oxford, Mich., and David Williams of Lake Orion, Mich.; and a grandson, Michael Cheslock.
``Davis Corner is a family,'' Laws said. ``Jim was a big part of that family. He will be missed.''
Donations in Williams' name can be made to the Davis Corner Rescue Squad, Haygood Road, Virginia Beach, Va. 23455. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
James S. Williams Sr.
by CNB