Howard Arthur Williams Jr aged 98, peacefully passed away in his sleep on April 16, 2024.

Howard Arthur Williams Jr was born on July 13,  1925 to Howard Arthur Williams Sr and Corrie Nall Williams in Portsmouth, Virginia. Soon thereafter, the young family returned to Alabama where Howard's parents met as students at Tuskegee Institute (now known as Tuskegee University). The family first settled in Birmingham where Howard's three younger sisters were born. Birmingham is also where Howard had his first job as a paperboy.

Several years later the acceptance of an electrician job opportunity for Howard Sr at the Veteran's Administration hospital led the Williams family to return to Tuskegee. Sadly, Howard Sr tragically passed away a couple years later. This left Howard Jr as the man of the family at 10 years old. Despite this tragedy Howard managed to flourish socially and academically. He not only was a good student, he became an accomplished pianist and he played the baritone in both his high school band and the marching band at nearby Tuskegee Institute as a high school student.

Upon graduating from high school, Howard attended Tuskegee Institute for a year. He then decided to head north to Detroit where he worked in the thriving automobile industry. After living three years in Detroit, he enlisted in the Air Force. The Korean War started during Howard's time in the Air Force. This led Howard to Korea right in the middle of conflict.

After Howard was honorably discharged, he returned to Alabama and reenrolled in Tuskegee Institute to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Commercial Industries (majoring in Applied Electricity). While a coed, Howard went on a blind date with one of his veteran friends and his girlfriend. This blind date lead to many more dates and he eventually proposed to his blind date named Fannie Colley and she of course accepted. They were married on June 18, 1957 in Tuskegee. After graduation, Howard accepted a job offer from the Civil Service as an electrician which led them to relocate to Cheyenne, Wyoming where Howard worked as an electrician. Their time in Cheyenne saw the birth of their first child and only daughter Elaine.

A new job offer acceptance from the Bureau of Reclamation for Howard led to the family to relocating to Page, Arizona where Howard worked as an electrician during the historic construction of the Glen Canyon Dam. Their time led to the birth of their first son, Bruce.

Howard then decided to move the family to Flagstaff, Arizona for better opportunities. He was hired as an electrician for Ponderosa Paper Products (the paper mill) in 1965. In 1966, Fannie accepted a teaching job on the Navajo Reservation. The family relocated to Leupp, Arizona, however Howard continued to work at the paper mill so he valiantly commuted to Flagstaff everyday until 1969 when the family returned after Fannie accepted a teaching job at Flagstaff Junior High School. This resulted in the family returning to and settling down in Flagstaff where their youngest child and second son James was born. In 1982, Howard began work as an electrician at Northern Arizona University. During this time, he found time earn a second bachelor's degree this time  in General Studies with a concentration in Spanish. He worked at NAU until his retirement in 1997.

During his life in Flagstaff, Howard was very active in his passion as a FCC-licensed amateur radio operator (HAM Radio). He was an active member of the Flagstaff Amateur Radio Club. Nightly he would turn on his HAM radio and communicate with people around the country and sometimes the world. He loved music, especially Jazz. He was a huge Charlie Parker fan and could talk for hours about Jazz especially the Bebop era. A hidden secret was that he was a pool shark. He not only was he well known as a pool shark in his hometown of Tuskegee, but he was so good he quickly earned and maintained a reputation as a pool shark in the pool halls in and around Detroit.

A very happy and proud achievement of his life was when he found out his time of service in the Air Force qualified him to be a Tuskegee Airman. He was still in high school when the Tuskegee Airmen began training nearby Moton Field. He idolized them, so he was very proud and honored to be a Tuskegee Airman.

Above all, Howard was a devout Christian who attended East Flagstaff Church of Christ, Flagstaff Church of Christ and Greenlaw Baptist Church over the years while a Flagstaff resident.

Howard was preceded in death by his wife Fannie, son James Howard Williams, father Howard Arthur Williams Sr, mother Corrie Nall Williams and sisters Maxine Williams McClain, Eugenia Williams and Dr Lois Williams.

Howard is survived by his daughter Elaine Williams, son Bruce Williams, daughter-in-law Stacee Johnson-Williams, grandsons Donovan, Alex, Myles and Mason Williams as well as sister-in-law Margaret Colley, nephew Justin Colley, nieces Felicia Colley and Denise McClain Dukes, sister-in-law Dianna Beatty and her family Tim, Nate and Colette Beatty. As well as numerous other loving cousins and friends who will miss him immensely.

Visitation will be Friday, May 3rd, 5pm-7pm at Norvel Owens Mortuary located at 914 E. Route 66 Flagstaff, Arizona 86001. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 4th at 10am at NPHX Flagstaff Church located at 3400 E. Lockett Rd Flagstaff, AZ 86004 followed by interment with military honors at Citizens Cemetery.

We are asking that donations in memory of Howard A. Williams Jr be directed to his alma mater, Tuskegee University, where he received an excellent education.