It has just been learned that State Criminal Court of Appeals Judge John Everett Williams, 64, of Huntingdon has died suddenly while on a trip out west on Monday.
He is believed to have had a massive heart attack during the morning hours, although the exact time is not known, according to what has been learned so far.
He was on a trip with his brother Bob. He was here just the past weekend for funeral visitation for Tennessee Highway Patrolmen Sgt. Lee Russell, according to friends.
County Mayor Joseph Butler and his father, Walter Butler, president of Bethel University, were close friends with Williams and were deeply saddened to hear the news.
“He had reached the pinnacle of his career and had just been re-elected,” said Joseph Butler. He so loved his son and daughter-in-law J and Devon and his granddaughters, Emory and Everly.”
Gov. Don Sundquist appointed Williams to the Criminal Court of Appeals in 1998 and he has been re-elected every since.
Prior to that he was in private practice of Williams and Williams Attorneys at Law in Huntingdon from 1981-1998.
He held memberships in the Tenn. Bar Association, Tenn. Trial Lawyers Association, Carroll County Bar Association,and was past president of Huntingdon Jaycees.
His community involvement included Huntingdon Lions Club past president, American Heart Association, American Red Cross, Carroll County Habitat for Humanity, Carroll County Ducks Unlimited, and Cumberland School of Law’s Cochairman.
He was known for his humor and his magic shows that delighted children.
