Arthur Williams

1925 - 2025

Arthur Williams
05/14/1925 - 05/10/2025
On May 10, Arthur Leslie Williams, four days shy of his hundredth birthday, decided he didn't want his honorary 100th birthday card signed by Donald Trump and chose to check out early.
Our dear father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, cousin and friend to many, lived a full life. Born in 1925 and from a family of adventurers, his great-grandfather journeyed from Wisconsin to the Sierras during the 1849 Gold Rush, and the son, following to San Francisco, found his fortune in the 1890s Yukon Gold Rush.
Suffering the Depression for 10 years, he graduated from Balboa High and, at 17, enlisted in the Navy. He trained to be an electronics and radar technician, sailed on the USS Catskill and engaged in three battles in the Pacific during WWII.
Art earned his BS in electrical engineering from UC Berkeley. His first job was at the CAL Livermore Laboratories, followed by a career move to Stanford Linear Accelerator.
Art was married to Greta Smith from 1953 to 1977 and had four children. He was preceded in death by his child, Karla Williams and is survived by three children: Gwen Williams, Curtis Williams and his wife Margaret Williams, and Christine Williams; his grandchildren Quinn Bailey, Meaghan Foreman, Rhys Williams and his wife Michele Williams; and his great-grandson Cai Williams.
After divorcing, he moved to Saudi Arabia to work on their electric grid and traveled extensively. Once retired, he adopted his first dog of three that he would have over 27 years and was very committed to his fur family. An extrovert at heart, he collected friends and met regularly with his dog group, as well as for 35 years, a McDonald's coffee klatch.
We held a private Celebration of Life for him. With love, this departed sailor's ashes will be scattered at sea under the Golden Gate Bridge. Donations in his memory may be made to the Peninsula Humane Society or K9s for Warriors.