Timothy Williams

1964 - 2022

Timothy Williams
November 17, 1964 - January 12, 2022
Fairbanks, Alaska - Timothy Martin Williams passed away at his home outside of Fairbanks, Alaska on January 12, 2022. Timothy was preceded in death by his parents, Harold M. Williams, M.D. and Beverly Williams, both of Fresno, California. Timothy was born in Fresno on November 17, 1964. He attended Gibson Elementary, Tenaya Jr High, Edison High and was a 1982 graduate of Bullard High School, where he was an honors student, champion wrestler for the Knights and a member of the Chargers Staff. His bachelor's degree is in political science and French from the University of California, Berkeley and he obtained his Master's degree in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Timothy also studied abroad in Ghana while at Berkeley. He was a Times Mirror Fellow after graduating from journalism school. A veteran, Timothy served in the U.S. Army between Bullard and Berkeley, stationed in the former West Germany and being honorably discharged. As a journalist Timothy worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press. Most recently Timothy was at the New York Times, where he had a byline as an investigative reporter and was part of a Pulitzer - prize winning team that produced a series about prisoners and Covid. He also spent two years as a war correspondent in Iraq. A lifelong athlete, Timothy won high school, intramural and city league championships over the years in a number of sports and he was a devoted runner. He loved music, travel, reading, Vegan food and deep conversations with close friends. Shaped by experiences as diverse as driving a taxi in San Francisco to studying in Ghana to life on both coasts to an interest in Alaska, Timothy was a journalist and writer who offered fresh perspectives and found the impacts on the underdog and then told those stories broadly.
Timothy is survived by siblings Mike and his wife Jeanne of Lafayette, California, Steve, a retired U.S. Navy captain of Alexandria, Virginia, Robert of western Pennsylvania, and Elizabeth Martin and her husband Mike of Avondale, Arizona. He is also survived by nephews John Robin McCrery of Oakland, California and Steven Williams of Lafayette, California; niece Jenna McCrery of Moraga, California and aunt Cynthia Tyner of Sun City, Arizona. A longtime resident of New York City, Timothy will be missed by friends, teammates, classmates, colleagues and readers from coast to coast and around the world. A private service will be performed and a Celebration of Life will be announced at a future date. The family thanks you all for your well wishes, thoughts, prayers and memories of Timothy. We request that in lieu of flowers donations be made to your favorite charity.