Samuel D'Arcy 'Jack' Williams Jr.

HURLOCK - Samuel D'Arcy "Jack" Williams Jr., 83, died at home on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007. He will probably be remembered by his neighbors for his early two mile walks through town every morning.

Mr. Williams was born in Cambridge on Oct. 19, 1924, son of the late Mary Ruth Hooper Williams and Samuel D'Arcy Williams. He attended public schools in Hurlock until Jan. 10, 1942, when he joined the U.S. Navy when the nation fully engaged in World War II.

After boot camp in Bainbridge and radar school in Virginia Beach he was assigned to the newly commissioned aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in July 1943. The christening speech for the new ship was given on the flight deck by Eleanor Roosevelt - a special memory of Mr. Williams.

Following the Yorktown's "shake down" cruise in the Atlantic Ocean and four weeks of ocean trials the Yorktown moved through the Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean. Eventually the ship docked at Fort Island, Oahu, Hawaii. Mr. Williams was discharged from the Navy in November 1945.

He married Betty Louise Newcomb, his high school sweetheart on Aug. 20, 1945, and worked in Hurlock for several years prior to moving to Philadelphia to study electronic engineering at Temple University where he graduated in 1953.

His first job was at the then very large electronic equipment manufacturer, Philco. His first assignment was in the old Philo Farnsworth plant building. His work covered 35 years of design, consultant work, and management in the field of electronics.

When his wife died in September 1988, he left Stratford, N.J. and returned to Hurlock.

Mr. Williams is survived by his daughter, Lee A. W. Schmitz of Kirkwood, N.J.; his grandson, Albert Paul Schmitz of Kirkwood, N.J.; his sister, Mary Ruth Williams of Bladensburg, and several cousins.

In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by a brother, James Hooper Williams.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Zeller Funeral Home in East New Market where friends may call one hour prior to the service. The Rev. Bonnie Shively will officiate.

Donations in memory of Mr. Williams may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 100 West 10th Street, Suite 1002, Wilmington, DE 19801.