James R. Williams passed away Wednesday afternoon, April 13, 2022 in Mesa, AZ at the age of 80. Jim is survived by his beautiful wife, Ola Mae, brothers David (Karen) Williams, Steven (Mary) Williams, and Bruce (Betty) Williams, and sister-in-law Darlene Williams, and his eight children: Ladd (Janet), Wade (Kimber), Troy (Judith), Jennifer (Don), Tyler (Kristy), Jared (Christine), Porter (Karla), Julie (Brad), and fifty-one grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren. Jim is preceded in death by his parents, Garth and Verdell Williams, brother Terry Williams, sister-in-law Rachelle Williams, and his daughter Camille Williams.
Jim spent his childhood in Salt Lake City, Utah before moving to Arizona during junior high and graduated from Mesa High School in 1960. As the oldest of five boys, Jim learned to work hard and had several jobs in and out of construction as a teenager. Jim was very musical and appeared on TV playing the steel guitar as a young boy. During high school, he played lead guitar and sang in a local band.
Jim served in the New Zealand South Mission in 1961 for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Once home, he met and married the love of his life, Ola Mae Tryon, on January 30, 1965, in the Mesa Arizona Temple. Jim graduated from USC in 1970 with a Doctor of Dental Studies and practiced dentistry in Mesa for 32 years. Later in life, he and Ola Mae served a mission at Martin’s Cove and taught visitors all about the LDS pioneer’s trek west, square dancing, and blacksmithing. Jim was very talented in music, home building, and loved working hard and playing hard. He was often found tending his garden, singing, playing the guitar, and sharing his testimony to his children and grandchildren any time he could. He was a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. We will miss him dearly until at last we can all be together again.
Those who wish to pay their respects are invited to a viewing, Friday, April 22, from 6:00 – 8:00pm at Bunker’s Funeral Home, located at 3529 E. University Dr., Mesa, AZ 85213. The funeral will be held the following day, Saturday, April 23, at 10:00am at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 2835 E. Des Moines St. in Mesa, with a viewing prior to the funeral service from 9:00 – 9:45am. Interment will follow at the Mesa City Cemetery. For those who would like to view the services online or remotely at 10:00am, please visit the following link:
Arrangements by Bunker’s University Chapel, www.bunkerfuneral.com. Should this obituary appear anywhere but bunkerfuneral.com, please check our website for accurate details and service information.
Love you Dad… miss you! Thanks for all you did to raise us right. Thanks for all the wonderful times and the memories; they will last a lifetime!
If heaven isn’t filled with people like Jim Williams (and Ola Mae) I don’t want to be there.
My condolences. I was thankful to have Jim as an employer and a mentor.
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your father. My thoughts are with you and your family at this time. Families can be together forever.
My big brother Jim will definitely be missed. I always looked up to him and wanted to be like him.
It was an honor knowing you. You did great dental work and served the Lord well. We miss you.
Love cousin Jim. He was a great example to the whole family. We have better smiles because of him. We will miss seeing him at education week too. Jim is a good man and has a great legacy with his wonderful wife Ola Mae to prove it. We will miss him and send our love to the family. We are not in town to hug you in person.
So sorry, Great man!
I am so very sorry for the loss Jim’s wife Ola Mae and family have sustained. I know each of you and am always delighted to be around you! I truly loved my brother Jim, for he was and forever will be one of my all-time great heroes! No one could have better brothers than I! I will miss his loving kindness and happy smile for the rest of my days.
Ola Mae I am so sorry to hear of Jim’s passing. I love the Williams family and my heart breaks for you and your family. Sending prayers of comfort.
I am so deeply moved at the passing of my brother Jim. He was the perfect oldest brother of us 5 boys! For some reason that I could not see, he truly believed in me and always was steady and encouraging, which made a significant difference in my life! Surely, I will miss him for the rest of my days. Jim and Ola Mae were awesome parents and raised a wonderful family we all love! I have full confidence God will bless and sustain them all through this most difficult time of loss.
I remember Jim so well . He actually gave me guitar lessons. He was a wonderful man. Heartfelt love to his family.
My father has many fond memories of working with Jim. They have shared the same office for many many years. Jim was a wonderful person and a great dentist. Dad would like to let Ola Mae and her family know how much he appreciated working with Jim for so many years.
John worked along side of Jim in his dental office for many years. First, on the office that my grandfather build on 1st Street-which is now part of the parking lot of the Mesa Library. Then, when the city purchased that land, they moved to Brown Road where they shared a lab together. Dad has many memories of Jim and Ola Mae. When I told him of Jim’s passing, he commented that Jim was way too young to pass away. After thinking a minute he said, “I guess a lf people seem young when you are 92!! “. Prayers for peace and comfort for your family. Laura Hamblin Pew, John Hamblin’s daughter.
We love Brother Williams, his wife and their entire clan. You will be missed and remembered for all the good you have done!
Jim was a wonderful friend and neighbor. He has won the victory. Till we meet again
We loved our shared years in Dental School with Jim and Ola Mae. Our hearts are sad at his passing.
I considered Jim a good friend, and knew his family; his sister-in-law (Betty) worked in my office for many years. I remember him playing “Sleep Walk” on his steel guitar. It looks like he lived a full life. . . it’s all we can ask for. .
Your Father and Grandpa sounded like a wonderful, talented, and fun man, the spiritual bright star in the lives of so many .. we feel sorry for your sadness but grateful for the love of the gospel that he taught and lived and left as his legacy to his wonderful family and friends!