A lawyer in Washington state, Williams was an avid hiker and mountain climber. “He was a natural leader who knew the backcountry and the perils people would get into, and he knew how to survive them,” said his son, Brian. He realized that self-reliant climbers would sometimes need help, so he organized the Seattle Mountain Rescue team.
That was great for his home area, but he realized that other areas would have the same problem. “He recognized they needed a parent organization so there was some uniformity to rescues across the country,” Brian said. So, in 1958, Williams used his legal knowledge to draft incorporation papers for what became the Mountain Rescue Association, which has grown to include affiliated mountain rescue teams not just in the United States, but in other countries as well.
While he was active in mountain rescue, including stints as the head of Seattle Mountain Rescue and the national organization he created, “He’d answer any call, day or night,” his son said. “He’d just about walk out of court to participate in a rescue.” Williams retired from mountain climbing when he was 60, and died December 21 at his Washington home from congestive heart failure. He was 80.