Aug. 08--Joe F. Williams Jr, 57, a public relations executive who served as spokesman for Pinnacle Airlines, died Tuesday during a business trip to Minneapolis for the airline now rebranded as Endeavor Air.
Mr. Williams' death, on the eve of his 58th birthday, left friends recalling an even-tempered man who not only kept the public aware of a difficult two years for the airline but maintained the company's ties to education, music and other charitable endeavors that helped tie Pinnacle to Memphis.
His former boss, Pinnacle president and CEO Phil Trenary, described him as " one of the finest people one could ever hope to meet. He truly never met a stranger and was always more interested in the other person than himself. He was a marvelous human being."
Trenary said Mr. Williams "was very much the face of Pinnacle, and Pinnacle was very active in the community." Among those activities, he said, were schools, education reform, "anything to do with kids" and some of the most high-profile institutions in the city from Stax to the annual Blues Ball and the charities it supports.
Blues Ball founder and chairwoman Pat Tigrett described him as one of the organization's biggest supporters. "He was always so solution-oriented. He would always arrange for our musicians to fly in and do everything they needed. He was such a friend of Memphis."
But, Tigrett said, Mr. Williams also was "stressed to the hilt about the way Delta (airline) had come in and taken over" and that he was commuting between Memphis and the Pinnacle corporate headquarters in Minneapolis.
Phil Reed, Pinnacle's vice president of resource planning and analysis, said the last two years were difficult for everyone at the airline. "We managed our way through a bankruptcy filing, and Joe was at the forefront of telling our employees and the public about that. He was always kind, always polite and even-tempered. I never heard him raise his voice even in some very strenuous conversations."
He described him as an "absolutely consummate Southern gentleman. It was part of his upbringing. Joe just revered all things Southern. He had a love for the land, a love for family, a love of Ole Miss and an undying love for what he called his 'two girls,' his wife, Kathy and his daughter, DeeAnn."
His wife, Kathy Kelley, said Mr. Williams was born in Holly Springs, Miss., but moved with his family to McKenzie, Tenn., when he was 14. He would major in communications and journalism at the University of Mississippi. There, he was the public-address announcer for football games. Later he would become an editorial commentator, producer and program host at WHBQ-TV in Memphis, including producing the popular Marge Thrasher show. Before joining Pinnacle, he had been spokesman for Time-Warner Cable.
In addition to his wife and daughter, he leaves his mother, Elaine Seale Williams of McKenzie; two sisters, Mary Elaine Brown of McKenzie and Laura Lei Williams of Ocala, Fla.
A memorial service will be held in Memphis at Second Presbyterian Church at 4055 Poplar at 1 p.m. Monday with visitation to follow. The family will hold a private burial. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Fire Museum of Memphis or to a charity of one's choice.
Copyright 2013 - The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.
