Obituary to my friend Col. Loren J. Williams

It is with great sadness that I inform friends and acquaintances that one of the last great Tuskegee Airmen has passed on. Col. Loren J. Williams died Saturday, March 7th, 2009. Since he married Christine Smith, who was from these parts, and, since they used to spend a lot of time here years ago, I am posting this blog to let everyone in the area know about his death.

Col. Loren John Williams, 89

Few men have had a more diverse career than Col. Loren J. Williams.
As a young officer, he left college to join the Tuskegee Airmen, known today as first black fighter pilots of World War II. He ended his career teaching today’s young fighting men at the Navel Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Loren John Williams was born to the children of slave and sharecroppers in Birmingham Alabama on July 6, 1919. He attended school in the all black University of Maryland in 1939. Drafted into the army at the outbreak of WWII, Williams enrolled in the newly formed Tuskegee Airmen Program, where he graduated in the top half of his class.

In 1946, he married Christine smith of Delmar, who pre-deceased him in 2005.
After his marriage, he and his new bride relocated to Washington D.C. where they made their home for many years. After retiring form the military in 1969, he tried his hand at many things. He was, for a short time, a photographer working with children’s portraits, and then salesman at a children’s store selling young boys clothes. He always
enjoyed gardening, and was a mentor at the D.C. Boys & Girls Club for many years.

In 1980, he moved to Annapolis, MD., where he obtained his real estate license, and went to work for the popular Annapolis properties company on Church Circle. This was followed by a teaching position at the Navel Academy.

Col. Williams will be intende3d at Arlington National Cemetery next Tuesday.