Edwin C. Williams, Jr.

Edwin C. Williams, Jr. passed away April 8th, 2010 after a brief battle with cancer. He was born March 11th, 1925 in Natick, Massachusetts, the eldest of three children of Edwin C. Williams and Wilhelmina I. (Johnsen) Williams. One of Ed's earliest and most enjoyable memories was winning the 1939 Massachusetts Soap Box Derby. After completing primary and secondary education in Natick, Massachusetts, class of 1942, he enlisted in the U.S. Coastguard, serving three years during World War II. He was stationed at the Salem, Massachusetts, Coast Guard Air Station as a flight mechanic and combat air crewman on PBM flying boats on submarine patrol along the east coast. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve until 1951. Ed's careers ranged from producing training films at Disney Studios in California in the early 1950's to founding his own successful business, Northeast Safety Products, in Auburn, Massachusetts in the 1960's. He was a designer and inventor with several patents carrying his name, including a heart muscle evaluation machine and various scientific instruments for use in school science curricula. Ed's interests were many and varied. Among them, he enjoyed sailing, radio-controlled airplanes and sailboats, and ham radio. Ed was curious and intelligent, two qualities that found outlets in both his personal and professional lives. Ed married his first wife, Phyllis M. (Wilson) Williams, in 1951. She became his life-long friend. His second wife, Theresa Greene Williams, passed away in April of 2004, after 28 happy years of marriage. It was while married to Theresa that he left his home state, Massachusetts, in 1987 for Punta Gorda, Florida, where he lived until 2004 when he moved to Fort Myers, Florida. Ed spent the last years of his life in a deeply loving and joyful relationship with Catherine Graue. Along with Phyllis Williams and Catherine Graue, Ed is survived by his brother, David M. Williams and his wife Janice of Marlborough, Massachusetts, and by his brother, Walter's wife, Frances Williams of Dennis, Massachusetts and Sanibel Island, Florida. He was predeceased by his brother, Walter I. Williams. Ed was also survived by his son, Dana L. Williams and his wife, Judy, of Belfast, Maine; his son, Mark G. Williams and his wife, Cynthia, of Needham, Massachusetts; his step-daughter Cheryl Parkman and her fianc Michael Dorr of Brownville Junction, Maine; and his step-daughter, Lisa Greene Leal and her husband Michael Leal of Worcester, Massachusetts. Ed also leaves grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nephews, nieces, and countless friends who added to the richness of his life. Without question, Ed will be deeply missed by all of us. In accordance with Ed's wishes, no services are planned.