Richard Ray Williams was born and raised in Olney, Illinois, where he enjoyed a family life including frequent large gatherings of his parents, aunts, uncles and cousins – usually centered on his Grandfather Williams, Richard’s checker-playing companion, who was better known to adults in Olney as a B&O RR telegrapher, popular preacher and school board member.  As a youth, Richard kept busy reading, drawing, writing poetry and, later, playing tennis.  His Scout membership helped him develop leadership skills and those related to BSA activities: Cub Scout, photography; later, as a Boy Scout, camping and problem-solving; and, as an adult, wilderness backpacking.  Before graduating from ERHS, he enrolled and earned credit for a history course at Vincennes University and met his future wife, Barbara Olson, member of the Class of 1962.

 

Professor Emeritus Williams taught English for 33 years in schools in Indiana and Illinois.  He served as a member of the Humanities Department at Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC), Springfield, Illinois, for 27 years.  There, he served area youth as a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) volunteer, first on the unit level and later on both the unit and the district board level.   He also served on LLCC committees and governing bodies, including its Academic Senate, presiding as President for two terms.

 

Retiring in 1997, he moved to Houston, Texas, joining his wife, who had moved in 1996, to be a hospital vice-president. In Houston, Richard joined a computer club where advance members taught others (like Richard) many skills.  As a member, he built his first computer and website.

 

 Also in Houston, he joined the staff at the Fine Arts Museum for eight years.  His duties included studying world cultures, and then conducting art tours for museum visitors.  All teachers were required to “adopt” a gallery for personal concentration; his was on the ancient Maya culture.

 

In 2004, his museum service lead directly to his current part-time position of enrichment speaker on cruise ships.  He shares port history and cultural information in slide presentations to shipmates.  His first assignment was on a ship out of Houston touring the Western Caribbean.  Naturally, one talk was on the Maya.  Since then his topics have ranged from the art of Alaska, Central America, Caribbean, and South America. 

 

In 2008, Richard had a chance connection with a past student and current, alumni website administrator.  Seeing the importance of that alumni site led Richard in 2010 to create his own: erhsalumni.net.   Known as the Tiger Alumni Center, or TAC, the website turned four-year’s old September, 2014, serving over 1,600 members.  That year saw the next step: the creation of the Tiger Pride Alumni Association (TPAA).  He didn’t do it alone; he had the help of several ERHS schoolmates with the key ones being lawyers alumni Tom Weber and Frank Wagner and future directors Mary Cummings, Janet Everett, Nancy Rumsey, and Judy Walker.