Tulsa World: TCC professor believed in programs for veterans

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TCC professor believed in programs for veterans

Tulsa Community College West Campus professor Jack Williams will be remembered for his support of others. Courtesy

By TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer
Published: 11/11/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 11/11/2009 4:01 AM

Accounting professor Jack Williams recognized that his country owes a lot to its military veterans.

This Veterans Day, while his students and colleagues reflect on that debt, they also will reflect on everything they owe the late professor.

Williams, a much-loved educator at Tulsa Community College's West Campus and an Army veteran who served in Vietnam, died last week from injuries suffered in an Oct. 27 traffic accident that also killed his father, Jack Williams Sr.

A business professor who recently organized the college's first support group for students in the armed forces, the younger Williams was 63.

A memorial service is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the First United Methodist Church in Bixby under the direction of Bixby Funeral Service.

Williams's colleagues carried on Saturday in his memory, holding a luncheon to announce the new organization — Student Veterans and Active Military Organization — and then dedicating a new resource center for military students on the West Campus, the third such center on a TCC campus.

"It's been a very emotional week," said Peggy Dyer, the West Campus' provost. "I can't tell you how much we wanted Jack to be here on Saturday. It's his signature and his work. What a hero he was in the eyes of his students and the staff."

TCC has about 700 students among its fall enrollees who are veterans or on active duty.

"When Jack heard that statistic, he said we have to do something here for these students

and help them develop a camaraderie," Dyer said.

Williams, a certified public accountant and longtime advocate for the school's student veterans, worked for more than a year to form the organization.

Associate Dean Gornie Williams, an Army veteran but no relation to Jack Williams, said forging ahead without his "friend and mentor is tough. But he will always be part of this in spirit."

He said the group's goal is to help student members connect with others, make career choices, and reintegrate into society after their service.

Jack Williams also was instrumental in another TCC first: The college will begin offering ROTC classes in the spring in partnership with Northeastern State University.

Gornie Williams said Jack Williams also liked to identify students who were having a tough time financially and help them pay for school expenses.

"He called it the Jack Williams Scholarship," he said. "Not a lot of people knew about that. He wanted it that way."

Misty Jones, a former accounting student of Williams', called his death devastating.

"Jack was always about everybody else," she said. "I was a nontraditional student, in my 30s with a husband and family, and a little overwhelmed. We became fast friends, and he inspired me to be a CPA."

Williams had taught full time at TCC since 1998 and before that was an adjunct professor for 16 years.

He is survived by his wife, Judy Williams; three children, Noelle Waller, Matthew Williams and Rebecca Williams; his mother, Mary Williams; and four grandchildren.

For more information on TCC's Student Veterans and Active Military Organization and other such services, call Jim O'Mealey at 595-8034.

Tim Stanley 581-8385
tim.stanley@tulsaworld.com By TIM STANLEY World Staff Writer

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DogLover, (11/11/2009 9:53:54 PM)

I will miss my Dad so very much! He and his wonderful actions will live on in his children and grandchildren and our actions of selflessness!

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