Alfred "Al" Williams

Alfred "Al" Williams Al Williams passed peacefully in his home, on November 6, 2014, surrounded by his children. He was born on August 18, 1931 in Santa Cruz, California to L.J. and Olga Williams. He was their youngest child, following older brother James and sister Carolyn; who preceded him in death. The Williams family lived in Visalia, where Al attended Conyer & Jefferson Elementary Schools and Sierra Vista Junior High School. As a young man he was involved in Boy Scouts and had the distinction of being selected as one of top twelve Eagle Scouts in the Western United States. Al attended Visalia Union High School where he served as Freshman and Senior Class presidents. He played football, basketball, and was the captain of the tennis team. He was honored to serve as VUHS band's Bandmaster and as Visalia's representative at Boys State his junior year. Upon graduation in 1949 he attended College of the Sequoias where he won the Central California Junior College Mixed Doubles Tennis championship. After COS, Al transferred to Stanford University where he earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1954. At Stanford, he was active in the Delta Upsilon fraternity and the Stanford Engineering Society. He was a life member of the Stanford Alumni Association. While attending Stanford Al married his high school sweetheart, Juanita Dean Baber in 1952. They were blessed with four wonderful children. They were faithfully married for 47 years, until 1999 when Juanita lost a hard fought battle against breast cancer. After graduating from Stanford Al and Juanita moved their family to Santa Clara, California where he accepted the position of design engineer at FMC Corporation. During his early years at FMC he was a member of their Ordinance Engineer Division serving as project engineer, developing the Navy's first deep-dive submarine recovery system, as well as the 'Bradley Fighting Vehicle'. His last assignment at FMC was in the "Advanced Products Design Group" where he launched the "Woodlands Equipment Division" developing a high speed tracked logging vehicle. In the early 1970's Al and Juanita moved their family to the eastern foothills of San Jose, on 3.6 acres of land, where they built their dream home, and began raising horses, which quickly became a favorite family pastime. In 1977 Al embarked on a new phase of life that he described as "one of the happiest choices" of his life. Al left his 23 year career at FMC in order to return to Visalia to manage the family's 228 acre citrus and olive ranch (original orchards planted in Sultana area in 1912). Soon after their return he became president of the Visalia Citrus Packing Group and president of the Visalia Fruit Growers Exchange. Through those companies he managed approximately a 1000 acres of citrus as well as three packinghouses which handled approximately 12% of Sunkist volume in the San Joaquin Valley. In 1988 Al became a member of the Board of Directors for Sunkist, and in 1997 he served as Vice Chairman of that same board. He later became Chairman of the Sunkist Board of Directors and served in that position until 2004. While managing these different agricultural enterprises Al was equally dedicated to serving his community, an ethic he learned early in life from the example of his mother and father. He served with the Visalia Chamber of Commerce and enjoyed working for the Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation. Al found great joy working with the Boy Scouts Mt. Whitney Area Council and served as its president. He was honored to be presented scouting's "Silver Beaver" and "Good Scout" awards. Returning to the Central Valley also allowed easier access to one of Al's favorite places on earth, our local High Sierras. He loved back and stock pack trips and fished over most of the central Sierras as frequently as possible. Many enjoyable days were also spent at the family cabin at Hume Lake. Al is survived by his 3 sons and their spouses; Rick (Kendal), David (Brenda), and Rex (Michelle); all residents of Visalia. He is also survived by his devoted daughter Trish and her husband Karl Pendegraft, also residents of Visalia. He will be fondly remembered by his 16 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren. His legacy will be shared with many. Visitation will be held Friday, November 14, 2014 from 4:00pm-7:00pm at Miller Memorial Chapel. A Memorial Service to honor Al's life will be held at the Miller Memorial Chapel on Saturday, November 15, 2014 at 10:00 am. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Sequoia Council of the Boy Scouts of America at www.seqbsa.org/donate or to the Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation. Arrangements by Miller Memorial Chapel, Visalia.