Obituary of Richard P Williams

~Richard P. Williams~ A DEBONAIR MAN OF HIGH REGARD, BUT EVEN HIGHER RESPECT It was a Sunday morning when parents, Robert Sr. and Sudie Williams, proudly welcomed the final addition to their family. Mr. Richard Paul Williams was born on August 20th 1944 at Cooper Hospital in Camden, New Jersey and completed the Williams clan. He was the youngest of 3 other siblings: Kenneth, Betty and Robert Jr. "Big Rich," who he was affectionately known to many as, was called to eternal rest on Wednesday, May 20, 2020. Raised in a very loving home on Henry St in the southern section of the city, Richard was educated in the Camden public school system acquiring countless friends along the way. Graduating from Camden High School in 1962, it was there that he met his future bride, Jessieline Kennedy. The two were married in August of 1971, also in Camden, and resided there until they relocated to Lawnside, NJ in 1994. No children were born from this marriage. However, he had many "honorary children" as he took great pride in caring for his nieces, nephews and later on, great-nieces and great-nephews. Shortly after graduating from high school Richard took special interest in fire safety and he successfully completed the necessary coursework to become a firefighter. Throughout his professional career Richard took on various roles of leadership culminating it with his final role as Deputy Fire Inspector before he retired in 1993 with nearly 30 years of service. Towards the end of his tenure with the fire department Richard adopted a new interest of chauffeuring which would become a 20 year career he was very fond of. It was not uncommon for "Big Rich" to show up at your door driving a stretch limousine and offering his services for hire. In the latter part of his professional career and until recently he favored being a security personnel member. And when working at Camden County College he was led to Christ by a member of that community while he was on duty providing security services. His nephew, Rev. Kenneth Thompson, later reaffirmed this. Clearly, the common denominator throughout his life has been just that - SERVICE. In fact, it was his ministry. As such, he was a consummate family man with special devotion to his mother. Although he was the little brother of his family, he became big brother to many. He loved going to North Carolina for family reunions. Prior to his wife's death in 2005, the two enjoyed a life of entertaining, constant travel around the world, fine dining and classy cabarets. He loved to dance and had a vast collection of CD's that he later used to DJ with for special events. He was an avid sports fan and loved the Phillies and EAGLES. After Jesseline's passing, he continued the lifestyle they enjoyed and could be found treating many of his friends and family to lunch at local favorites like The Coastline or Ponzios in Cherry Hill. As an extraordinarily sophisticated man of significant resourcefulness, he was a real life super hero - both in the eye of the public by fighting fires and most importantly, in the eye of his family by taking such good care of us. The impact of his love stretched well beyond his family and many would agree that simply being the refined individual that he was would usually excite a desire within you to raise the bar to be on your A-game. He is preceded in death by his wife, mother, father, two eldest brothers and nephew. He leaves to mourn: his beloved sister and brother-in-law, Betty & Sam Shelton, sister-like friends Lois and Ernestine Mahan, long time best friend, Richard Carver(Pat), and devoted companion Saran Carrington. He was the proud uncle to: Sharon(children: Larissa and Corey), Susan(children: Samuel, William and Sarah), Sophia(spouse: Kenneth and daughters Lolita & Kana) and nephew Scott as well as a host of cousins and friends.