Porter Williams

Porter Williams, Jr. died Wednesday, October 29 at the age of 92 at Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community after a long life motivated by intense intellectual curiosity and an abiding interest in the natural world. His Funeral Service will be held Sunday, November 2, 2014 in the Chapel at Bishop Gadsden, One Bishop Gadsden Way at 2:00 p.m. A reception will be held at Bishop Gadsden following the service. Interment, Magnolia Cemetery. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel.

Mr. Williams was born in Charleston in 1922, the son of Porter Williams, Sr. and Sarah Parker Williams. After graduating from Charleston High School in 1939, he entered the University of the South (Sewanee) in Tennessee, but his studies were interrupted by World War II. He volunteered for service, was trained as an infantryman, and served in General Patton's Third Army in France. He sustained serious injuries in battle in March 1945, and received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

At the end of the war, while still recuperating from his wounds, Mr. Williams was selected to attend a special program at the University of Biarritz in France. Upon discharge from the military, he returned to Sewanee to complete his college studies, graduating in 1947 with a major in English. He first joined his father at the Carolina Savings Bank, but continued to be strongly attracted to an academic career. He began graduate study at the University of Virginia, where he earned an MA in English Literature. He then was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship, and spent the following two years at Cambridge University (England), where he continued his studies in literature, leading to a British MA degree.

Upon his return to the US, Mr. Williams taught for a year at his alma mater, Sewanee, and then joined the faculty of the English Department at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, pursuing an active academic career of teaching and research from then until his retirement in 1985. At NC State, Mr. Williams taught English literature to both undergraduate and graduate students, and published a number of scholarly articles on a broad range of subjects. Throughout his life Mr. Williams pursued a broad range of interests, including--in addition to literature--art, architecture, and music. However, he also maintained a keen interest in a number of scientific fields, especially geology, biology, and climatology. He was an intrepid hiker, and a powerful swimmer. In later life he developed a further interest in painting, producing watercolors, often of mountain scenes.

Above all, Mr. Williams was a teacher, not just by profession but by temperament. Whatever he knew-and he knew a great deal about a great many subjects-he generously shared with his students, colleagues, and friends. He possessed a remarkable ability to engage others in the pursuits that commanded his own attention. In his undergraduate classes he found satisfaction in using his knowledge of current scientific developments to bring engineering and science students to an understanding and appreciation of good literature.

In his retirement, Mr. Williams joined his parents and sister in their family home in Charleston, and later shared a cottage with his sister at Bishop Gadsden Retirement Community. He always spent a portion of his time in the summer lodge he had built in 1973 in Connestee Falls in the mountains near Brevard, NC. There he was able to continue his intellectual pursuits while also enjoying hiking and generally indulging his great love for the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Mr. Williams is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Robertson Williams of Charleston, and by many devoted cousins, colleagues, former students, and friends.

Memorials may be made to a charity of one's choice.