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The Pinecone
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December 2015
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C A P T U R I N G H I S V I S I O N
Bob Williams
Innate talent, latent during formative years of childhood, but
poised to shape and support the ultimate world view of the man –
noted photographer, Bob Williams.
Born in 1924 to Katherine Weigel Williams and Lee Terry
Williams - each parent was talented in the arts – Katherine, in
voice and piano, and Lee, in painting. The genetic “code” of
these talents was passed to their son, Bob, surfacing as a sharp
eye for capturing on film myriad faces and events on which his
life-long reputation was built. While in the Boy Scouts, a camera
from his mother was his introduction to the art of capturing faces,
figures, beautifully situated inanimate objects, pets, and ordinary
events of every day life. Bob learned to pose and photograph his
subjects, and how to develop the film for pictures taken. Over
time, a diligent and determined young man matured into an
acknowledged master of filming. He still has his mother’s 1930s
box camera among the many accolades saluting his career.
Bob was inducted into the Army Air Force during WWII, serving
as an Official War Photographer in North Africa, Corsica, and
Italy. After victory in Europe his group was ordered to Okinawa,
but while en route the mission was aborted after atomic bombing
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki forced Japan to surrender. Upon
discharge, he returned to Tennessee, married Mary Jo “the most
beautiful girl in the world” (his words), and, ultimately, gained a
position as photographer with the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
His human interest photos quickly found a loyal readership
that continued unabated during his 33 years with the paper.
Numerous awards were bestowed: Tennessee Photographer of
the Year by the Tennessee Press Association, a “Special Citation
in Photojournalism for consistency in competition and major
contribution to the art of photojournalism” by the National Press
Photographers Association, World Book Encyclopedia, The
University of Missouri School of Journalism, and the National
Press Photographers Association. Bob shared his photographic
expertise through lectures at Loyola University in New Orleans,
the Louisiana Press Association, Delta State University in
Cleveland, Mississippi, and The National Press Photographers
Annual Southern Short Course in Photography in Durham, North
Carolina. Additionally, he taught a photography class for the
University of Tennessee Extension Division and had a column in
the newspaper called “Photographer’s Forum”.
You may find many of Bob William’s photographs online at www.
commercialappeal.com – an on-line subscription. Just search Bob
Williams to see a satisfying visit to back-in-the-day celebrities
(e.g. Elvis, a close friend of BobWilliams), history-in-the-making,
and familiar neighborhoods. A visual feast is guaranteed. A few
are shown here, below.
- Jacqueline Besteman, Resident
Mourners follow Coretta Scott King in Memphis, after the
assasination of her husband, Dr. Martin Luther King - 1968
Elvis Presley during Memphis’ Cotton Carnival - 1956
Here is Bob in 1952 after receiving his private pilot’s license