James Jerome “Jerry” Williams, 91, of Beacon, died Oct. 1 at Cortlandt Healthcare.
He was born in Los Angeles on Aug. 3, 1932, the son of James and Lucile (O’Brien) Williams. He grew up in Inglewood and attended Mount Carmel High School.
From an early age Jerry embraced the outdoors. He was an Eagle Scout, inspired by his time hiking, camping and fishing in the surrounding California mountain ranges. He also spent summers with his father and grandfather in Panguitch, Utah. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 1954 to 1958.
His journey into oil exploration began with a master’s degree in geology from UCLA in 1955 and work with Marathon Oil in Ventura, California. He had adventurous assignments mapping the North Slope in Alaska, flying to remote areas, landing on small lakes and walking in the wilderness.
As a young man he enjoyed California life — surfing off Solimar Beach, playing his ukulele, skiing and taking the Snowball Express to Sun Valley, Idaho. He savored the folk music of the Kingston Trio, Limeliters and Joan Baez, along with classical symphonies and guitarists.
It was at this time that he met the woman who became his wife of 61 years, Patricia Kennedy. In early 1962 he took an assignment to Libya working for Oasis Oil Co. That same year, he and Patricia were married in Tripoli. While living in Libya, the couple had two children, Sheila and Terence, in Valletta, Malta.
His career as an “oil finder” was a rich and well-traveled one. Spanning over 40 years, he settled for various lengths of time in California, the U.K. Colorado, and Albania. He was both a company man — with Occidental Petroleum — and entrepreneur, forming Warrior Resources in Colorado and Isramco in Israel.
His optimism, knowledge and enthusiasm enabled him to play a key role in the oil industry, with explorations and discoveries in the U.S., Libya, the North Sea, Guatemala and the Adriatic and eastern Mediterranean seas. He was known as a negotiator — from talks with tribes in the Fezzan over water wells to the British government over North Sea concessions and consulting with the Angolan and Gambian governments on writing their petroleum laws.
His sense of adventure and travel never ceased; he organized 50 geologists on a remote expedition across the Sahara into Chad and introduced his family to the Alps through his love of skiing. A legacy of travel was passed to his wife and children, all of whom reaped the rewards and continued in that pursuit themselves.
In 1997, Jerry retired with Patricia to his favorite destination: the mountains in Breckenridge, Colorado, where they lived on and off from 1981. He then moved to New Mexico and, finally, the Hudson Valley to be near his son, grandchildren and sister-in-law, Lisa McMurdo.
Jerry was diagnosed with severe rheumatoid arthritis in the U.K. in the late 1970s and fought the condition for over 40 years. He suffered through until his final years of immobility cared for by his wife.
Along with his wife, Jerry is survived by his children, Sheila Lucas (Anthony) and Terence Williams; his grandchildren: Francesca, Monique, Natalie and Antonia Lucas, and Sasha and Lena Williams; his sisters, Marian Achenbach and Margaret Hawes; and his in-laws: Lloyd Hawes, Lisa McMurdo and Robert and Judy Kennedy.
Jerry’s family will gather to remember his life with a Catholic Mass on Oct. 20 at St. John the Evangelist Church, 31 Willow St., in Beacon. Memorial donations may be made to the Rheumatoid Arthritis Foundation (helpfightra.org) or Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org).
