October 16, 2012

Richard Murdock Williams Sr. died Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012. He was born Aug. 5, 1919, in Nansemond County, Va., the son of the late Jack Simons Williams and Annie Mary Daughtrey Williams.

He graduated from Chuckatuck High School in 1936 and Virginia Tech in 1941. Immediately after graduation, he was ordered into the Army, serving as an anti-aircraft artillery officer for five years during World War II. He was separated from the service in 1946. Shortly after his military service, he revived the dairy operation he had begun during his high school days, and continued to be actively involved in the operation of Pur Sang Dairy Farm on Kings Fork Road for 52 years.

He was an active member of Western Branch Baptist Church, a charter member of the King’s Fork Ruritan Club, and served on the Nansemond County School Board from 1954 until 1967. He was recognized by the Suffolk Cosmopolitan Club as the 1963 “First Citizen” of Suffolk and Nansemond County.

He was predeceased by his devoted wife, Margaret Tobey Williams, whom he married on Sept. 20, 1941. He is survived by a daughter, Marion W. Lovelace, and her husband, Noel, of Suffolk; three sons, Richard Williams Jr., and his wife, Sue, of Suffolk; Millard (Mit) Williams and his wife, Judy, of Oskaloosa, Iowa; and Rodger Williams and his wife, Candice, of Suffolk; seven grandchildren, Richard Williams III and his wife Stephanie; Ryan Williams and his wife Mary; Kyle Williams and his wife Sonya; Clay Williams; Marc Lovelace and his wife Rachel; Laura W. Adam and her husband Aaron; and Michael Williams; as well as 13 great-grandchildren. “Big Pop” was also blessed with the loving care of his caregivers, Sylvia, Phyllis, Sue and Luquesha, as well as those at Nansemond Pointe and Autumn Care of Suffolk.

The funeral will be conducted by the Rev. Micah Voight on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012, at 2 p.m., in Western Branch Baptist Church. Burial with military honors will follow at the church cemetery. A visitation will be held with the family on Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., at R.W. Baker & Co. Funeral Home and Crematory, 509 W. Washington St., Suffolk. Memorial donations may be made to W.B.F.L.C. Fund, 6952 Old Myrtle Road, Suffolk, VA 23434. Condolences may be registered at www.rwbakerfh.com.