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Beloved TV news anchor Bill Williams dies
You only get a street named after you and a day proclaimed in your honor if you've truly earned it. Bill Williams did.
Williams, one of East Tennessee's most beloved news anchors, died Aug. 18 at his home, WBIR reported. He was 91.
For more than two decades, Williams anchored WBIR's evening newscasts, appearing in more than 10,000 broadcasts from 1977 to 2000. He mentored many along the way, but his impact reached far beyond the news studio. The community trusted him. He helped more than 1,000 children find families. And he fully embodied the station's longstanding motto: Straight from the Heart.
'I feel I've been so fortunate to have been so accepted,' Williams told the the News Sentinel in 1999 after announcing his 'slow' retirement. 'It's hard to give it up, particularly knowing that you can make a difference.'
'Williams' commitment to the news was clear. People could see his dedication and concern for East Tennessee,' the News Sentinel wrote in 2000. 'His compassion dealing with human issues marked his career from the start.'
A genuine newsman who cared about community
Williams came to WBIR in 1977 from Missouri, never having been to Knoxville before. It was a perfect match, though. WBIR was struggling to hold onto the No. 2 spot in local TV news ratings at the time. Within two years of Williams settling behind the desk, the station rose to No. 1, and stayed there throughout his 23-year tenure.
'Most newsmen don't stay in an area to build up that equity,' former WBIR general manager Jeff Lee told the News Sentinel in 1999.
'He's genuine,' then-WBIR news director Margie Nichols added. 'What you see is what you get. And he cares deeply about the community.'
From natural disasters to local politics and heartwarming features, Williams helped to guide East Tennessee through some of its most memorable news moments. In 1983, he became the first Knoxville reporter to go live via satellite while covering the Butcher family bank scandal congressional hearings from Washington, D.C.
But it was his compassion, especially for children, that defined his East Tennessee legacy.
In 1980, he launched Monday's Child, a weekly segment that profiled children seeking adoptive families. The segment continued long after his retirement and helped to place more than 1,000 children - many of them with special needs - in permanent homes.
'I want every one of them, practically,' he once told the News Sentinel. 'I'd have a whole house of children if my wife would let me.'
In 1987, he was one of the first local reporters to cover the HIV and AIDS crisis. The issue was personal because one of his sons had been diagnosed that same year.
His continued reporting on poverty in rural Appalachia later inspired the founding of Mission of Hope in 1996. The nonprofit provides food, clothing, Christmas toys, scholarships and other essentials to families in need across the region.
Williams' legacy is also marked, literally, with Bill Williams Avenue. The street where WBIR's studios are located was unanimously renamed in his honor in 2010.
And to celebrate his 90th birthday in 2024, Knoxville mayor Indya Kincannon declared March 22 as Bill Williams Day. Former Governor Bill Haslam and Dolly Parton sent video messages to celebrate the milestone.
An interesting life, fully lived
Williams' journey to Knoxville wasn't exactly straightforward.
He was born in 1934 in Butler, Missouri, to dairy farmer Riley Williams and teacher Lola Williams. He initially studied divinity at Phillips University in Oklahoma but, with no formal training, wound up at a local radio station instead.
'I was awful,' he recalled in 2000. 'I seriously thought I would do that until I got a real job.'
Another whim took him to California, where he pursued music, singing in bars and lounges. When that didn't lead to any big breaks, he returned home and went back to what he knew. He worked in radio for about a decade before transitioning into TV.
Appalachia felt familiar to the Ozarks native when he arrived at WBIR in 1977.
'I came here and met and married an East Tennessee girl – and that was the best thing that has ever happened to me,' he said in 1999.
Williams met Wanda Shaver in 1983. The two got engaged just one week after dating, married that same year and remained together for the rest of her life. They had two children together, Michael and Angelique. Wanda died in 2019.
Williams also had two children from a previous marriage: Mark and Marcelene.
The nonagenarian outlived both of his sons. Mark died in the early '90s, and Michael died in 2004.
Through his work and life, Williams understood the importance of telling stories.
'The thing I want to get across to people… is that perhaps the most insignificant thing can be a really interesting story,' he said in 2003. 'Life is interesting. You may not think of your life as interesting, but it is.'
Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter. Email On X, formerly known as Twitter @dturner1208.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Beloved TV news anchor Bill Williams dies
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