John B. Williams

1922 - 2018

SPRINGFIELD - John B. Williams of Bradenton, Florida, departed this life to be with his Lord forever, the morning of August 29, 2018. A service to honor John will be led by Pastor Marvin Wiseman at the RICHARDS, RAFF & DUNBAR MEMORIAL HOME in Springfield, Ohio on Wednesday, September 5, 2018 at 11 a.m. Visitation is scheduled 10-11 a.m. John and his wife Mildred retired for a period of nine years at Legacy Village in Xenia, Ohio before moving back to Bradenton, Florida. John was born in Charleston, West Virginia, the fifth child of John L and Cora Alice (Rice) Williams, on March 13, 1922. He is survived by his wife of 19 years, Mildred (Wagner) Williams, his two daughters, Joy Ann Williams, St. Petersburg, Florida, and Kathleen Jo Burns and her husband Rob, San Diego, California, and son J Michael Williams and wife Sharon of Port Charlotte, Florida. He has four grandsons, thirteen great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren and seven nieces and nephews. John was pre-deceased by his wife of 38 years Mary Alice (Ford) Williams, the mother of his three children, and Lydia Ann (Kokosh) Williams, his wife of 11 years. John was employed as a tool and die maker by International Harvester for 29 years and General Electric for 3 years. He was an ordained minister of three churches in Ohio for 15 years. He was a graduate of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio with a bachelor degree and Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky with a Master of Divinity degree. John was a veteran of WWII, serving four years in the U.S. Coast Guard, three years training watch dogs and one year on the USS El Paso, PF41. It was in the Pacific Theater of Operations that he was saved by Jesus Christ while on duty off the Leyte Gulf, P.I. Following his U. S. Coast Guard military service he received his appointment to the U.S.A.F./C.A.P. as a Major. He served in the Ohio and Florida Wings as a Chaplain. In lieu of flowers, please remember the Clark County American Cancer Society. Expressions of sympathy may be made at www.richardsraffanddunbar.com.