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Former District Attorney General
John L. Williams
With elections over, John Williams is most likely to be
found playing high-five with his buddies at the Senior
Citizens Center in Huntingdon, though his jovial
personality was a welcome addition to gatherings of
Republicans in months past as he supported candidates of
the party to which he acknowledges a lifelong affiliation.
Regardless of his political views, however, the successful
public servant says he never relied upon party politics in
his bids for office. " I had a lot of good help from
democrats and independents," he nods thoughtfully, "I
never did run under a banner."
By all accounts, John's win of the Circuit Court Clerk
position when he was just 22 - after serving his country
in the post-World War II occupation of Japan - was a
prestigious accomplishment for such a young man. His
ambitions began much earlier, however, when he was just a
farm-boy in rural Carroll County, standing upon a stump to
deliver a youthful oratory that illuminated his greatest
desire, to become a lawyer one day.
"I'd get up on a little old stump out there in the field
and try to make a speech," he chuckles, recalling his
audience's response, "He's wanting to be a lawyer, getting
up on a stump and making a speech."
"You know how we dream," he trails off and then affirms
the attainment of his youthful ambition: "I'm sure glad I
got a chance to go to law school and graduate and I sure
enjoyed the practice of law."
John Williams was born nearly 75 years ago on February 20,
1928, the youngest of four sons born to Clark and Grace
Williams in the Leach farming community outside
Huntingdon.
"It was a hard but good experience," John declares of life
on the small family farm where cotton was worked and
harvested alongside other staple crops.
By the time he was 16, John's older brothers had gone off
to war. Both Allen and Dallas had joined the Army while
Billy, an Air Force pilot, gave his life when he was shot
down over Germany in 1944 at the age of 25. That same
year, the Williams family moved to town where John's
father was custodian of Huntingdon High School.
After graduating two years later, John wasted no time
before following the examples of his brothers, enlisting
just a week later in the U.S. Army, where he served as a
medical corpsman and member of the occupation forces in
Yokohama, Japan.
He met his future wife, Betty Everett of McKenzie, on
"just about this date," he recalls, thinking back to those
long ago days with a growing smile. "It was about the
first part of 1948 when I came back from the service."
He chuckles as he relates how he met Betty on a blind
date: "Larry Wyatt Jr. was a good friend of mine who was
going with a lady from McKenzie; Jackie Marshall was her
name. She had a friend, and he asked me if I wanted to
have a blind date and meet the lady he was going with; so
I took him up on it and met her on a blind date."
The two dated while John pursued courses in pre-law at the
University of Tennessee and Bethel College, with the help
of the G.I. Bill, and worked for his brother, Allen, who
was Circuit Court Clerk in Huntingdon. When Allen moved on
to other employment, John ran for the office himself, in
1950 becoming one of the youngest Circuit Court Clerks
ever in the State of Tennessee.
John and Betty married on September 11, 1951. "She helped
me through law school; I couldn't have made it without
her," John says sincerely. Betty worked as a teller in a
bank in Lebanon while John completed his law degree at the
Cumberland University School of Law, on July 31, 1954
attaining his license to practice law in Tennessee.
The couple moved their family - which by now included
little John Everett Williams who was born November 11,
1953 - to McKenzie where he set up his first law office
above the Park Theatre downtown.
John was elected in 1955 as the Direct Representative of
Carroll County, serving during the time when extensive
renovations were undertaken on the state capitol building.
He served one term as representative, while maintaining
his law office in McKenzie.
A couple of years later, John and Betty added another son
to the family when Robert Clark (Bob) Williams was born on
February 9, 1959.
John Everett was in the fourth grade when the family moved
to Huntingdon to facilitate John's practice, being closer
to the courthouse. The move to the county hub made it
easier, as well, when in 1966 he was elected as District
Attorney General serving Carroll, Benton, Decatur and
Hardin counties, a position he retained over two terms for
the next 16 years.
John is extraordinarily modest concerning his successes,
crediting his initial achievement of becoming District
Attorney General with the fact that a new judicial
district comprising the afore-mentioned counties had been
established by the state legislature. "That's primarily
what caused me to try to run," he insists, "I thought
maybe I might have a chance and fortunately I was
elected."
John's modesty extends as well into the accomplishments he
attained while serving as District Attorney General,
coupled with the humility that likely gave him true
success as a servant of all the people.
His son, John Everett Williams, Sr. - himself a state
Court of Criminal Appeals justice (and part-time magician)
- is more inclined to speak proudly of his father's
abilities.
"He tried a ton of cases against a ton of lawyers across
the state and was a very successful Attorney General. He
tried some very difficult cases against some very good
attorneys and was successful in prosecution ," Williams
says strongly, enumerating some of the more sensational
and difficult cases that John, in his modesty, prefers
remain unspoken.
"He was representing victims and prosecuting criminals on
behalf of the state; all his cases were important to him,"
Williams says in support of his father. "The little lady
that had her lawnmower stolen was just as important to him
as the bigger cases; he doesn't want to minimize anybody's
suffering."
"You win some and you lose some, of course, during the
course of the 16 years," says John, who also served as
president of the state District Attorneys General
Association for a time. "Being District Attorney General
only deals in criminal law - prosecuting the guilty and
protecting the innocent. That was a challenge. I enjoyed
the challenge of being District Attorney and I greatly
appreciate the support I got throughout my term of office
in four counties."
In May 1982, Robert Gus Radford assumed the helm of the
office of the District Attorney General, and John began
practicing law with his son, John Everett, for about four
years before retiring at the age of 54 or 55.
At home in Huntingdon, John's comfortable den reflects his
life of service, from the Army and legal memorabilia
adorning one wall to a large, bronzed replica of the Great
Seal of the State of Tennessee that rests above the
mantelpiece. A large photo shows the men with whom John
served a portion of his 12 years in the Tennessee National
Guard.
John had enlisted in the Huntingdon unit shortly after
completing his tour with the regular Army. In time, he
transferred from the tank company to become a second
lieutenant attached to the Jackson-based medical unit
while still meeting in Huntingdon.
Glancing over at the wall that reflects his
accomplishments, John smiles. "I'm enjoying retirement,"
he says.
John enjoys time spent with his pals more than anything
else since losing his wife to cancer two and a half years
ago. "Betty left us on April 20 of 2000," he says,
reflecting on good times shared over 41 years. "We had a
lot of good years together and that's the main thing."
Members of the First United Methodist Church, John and
Betty also loved traveling. "We carried the kids; they
were growing up part of that time," he says, recalling
trips to see friends in Florida. "When the boys got grown
Betty and I traveled to East Tennessee or out to
Florida... the East Tennessee Great Smoky Mountains is as
good a place as any to visit for a short while."
Though the couple eventually traveled in 46 of the 50
states, John says, "It was always good to get back to
home; it was better to get back to Carroll County than
anywhere I ever saw; good old Carroll County, Tennessee."
Besides traveling, John says, "I never did have any real
hobbies; I hunted and fished and so forth, small game
hunting." A grin spreads across over his face as he
remembers the beagle dogs he used for rabbit and squirrel
hunting. "I never had any good ones, but I've had some,"
he smiles with an air that makes each one sound special,
"I raised beagle pups and carried my sons hunting and
anywhere else they wanted to go."
His family remains his greatest pleasure, especially with
grandchildren added to the mix. John Everett's 19-year-old
son, John Everett II, known as "J", is a second year
student at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Second
son Bob, a project engineer with the Tennessee Department
of Transportation, and wife Donna have two daughters:
Amelia, age 10, and Caroline, who is six years old.
"I'm just thankful I've been here this long," John says,
summing up his successes. "I've got my two fine sons and
grandchildren and that makes all the difference."
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