James Lamar Williams

James L. Williams, age 83, of New Freedom, passed away on March 29, 2023, after a brief struggle with pancreatic cancer.

Born on August 12, 1939, in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Jim was the son of the late Carlton L. Williams and Lorna L. (Porter) Williams. Jim attended Moon Township High School and both Lehigh University and Juniata College before earning a degree in Mathematics. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a morse code interceptor in Okinawa. After active duty, he began work as an insurance adjustor in Western Pennsylvania, later marrying and eventually moving to New Freedom in 1974 to work in Baltimore.

Jim enjoyed reading, good restaurants, playing cards, and making people laugh, but memories of him will always include his love for the game of golf. He began playing in his teens and learned the sport as a caddy at Montour Heights Country Club. He continued playing for his colleges and while oversees in the Army. It was the course at Bon Air Country Club that sold him on settling his family in Southern York County. He was a long-time member of Bon Air where he won the club championship in 1982 and multiple senior championships. In recent years, he was pleased to be shooting his age consistently.

Jim is survived by his daughters Amy (Scott) Snyder of Glen Rock and Sheri (Tony) Miller of New Freedom and their mother Evelyn Williams; grandchildren Stephen (Maryann), Timothy (Melissa), Daniel, Dominic (fiancé Laura), Leah, Noah, Claire, Andrew, Georgiana, and Elena; great granddaughters Colette, Luisa, and Mariella; and his cherished friends who were truly family to him. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister Lorna Pecor and her husband Frank, formerly of Greenville, South Carolina.

At Jim’s request, friends will be received at a reception at Bon Air Country Club on Saturday, April 29, from 12-3 p.m.

For the consolation of his family, a memorial mass will be scheduled later at their convenience. Interment will be private.

Memorial donations supporting the benevolent work of the St. Vincent De Paul Society (in which a few of Jim’s friends are active) may be made to St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (memo: SVDP-JW), 315 N. Constitution Ave., New Freedom, PA 17349.