Don Williams Obituary
Don Williams, age 87, of Northport, Alabama, passed away February 28, 2024 at Hospice of West Alabama. Visitation will be 4:00 – 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 3, 2024, at Northwood Hills Baptist Church. Graveside services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, March 4, 2024, at Springhill Baptist Church Cemetery in Carrollton, Alabama with Bro. Randy Selman officiating and Magnolia Chapel North directing.
Don Williams was born in Pickens County on December 13, 1936. He arrived in his heavenly home on February 28,2024. Don is survived by his wife of 65 years, Annie Bell Williams; daughters, Karen Kirkland (Wallace) and Susan Brown (Tony); son, Philip Williams (Rachael); grandchildren, Anna Kate Vuong (Kevin), Alex Kirkland (Morgan), Samuel Kirkland (Amber), Austin Brown (Lauren), Hannah Murphy (Chris), and Caleb Williams; three great-grandchildren, Henry, Laken, and Julia; a sister, Anne Faulkner; sister-in-law, Joyce Williams, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Don started the Paint Spot along with Billy Ray Junkin in 1971 and worked there until his retirement in 1999. He was a member of Northwood Hills Baptist Church for 63 years serving in several different capacities. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, and gardener. He loved being able to share anything he had with family, friends, and neighbors. Don never met a stranger and was always glad to see everyone. He loved his Savior, his family, and his church. He loved being at the farm and always had projects for everyone from picking up sticks and pecans to planting hunting fields. He spent many hours riding his golf cart looking at and enjoying God’s beautiful handiwork in nature. He was quick-witted and always ready to share a laugh with you or at your expense.
Pallbearers will be his grandsons.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Northwood Hills Baptist Church Debt retirement at 3463 Hwy 69N, Northport, AL 35473 or Springhill Baptist Church Cemetery Fund c/o Keith Bain, 956 Stinson Ridge Carrollton, AL 35447.
We loved him dearly and will miss him terribly.
Don Williams was nicknamed the Gentle Giant at a not-quite towering 6’1”. He was giant, though, when it came to his success on the country charts. With a nearly two-decade-long run in the top ten of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Williams remained steadfast as the genre moved through a number of different aesthetic eras, carving out his own timeless, velvety niche with his distinctive voice and style.
The native Texan had already spent years pushing for hits as a member of the ’60s folk group the Pozo-Seco Singers (best known for their song “Time”) by the time he made it to Nashville and launched his solo career. He had hits almost immediately, and rarely strayed from the sound and collaborators he established early on. Williams produced and wrote as well as sang and played guitar; especially as a producer, he was able to keep his rock solid but still understated soft country-rock sound constant through dozens of songs.
Williams’ rich bass-baritone voice, charming and more than a little seductive, offered another throughline to his catalog. Just about any love song sounded sweeter when Williams sang it, and more modern and groovy when he produced it – so even though he was incredibly prolific through the ’70s and ’80s, his hit rate rarely changed. It was country through an adult contemporary lens, mature and familiar but still compelling. Yet with all that consistency, Williams was still able to dabble in contemporary styles like disco more convincingly than most other country artists – it all still just sounded like Don Williams music, rather than some significant departure.
