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| date_of_birth =June 18, [[1931]]| place_of_birth = Jacksonville,DuvalTampa,Florida,USA| date_of_death =April 19, [[2004]]| place_of_death =HCA Florida West Hospital, Pensacola, Florida
| occupation =Music director
| religion =Presbyterian
==Early Life, Family, and Education==
Williams was born on June 18, [[1931 ]] in Tampa, Florida to Jonathan Beatty Williams (1903-1978) and Mary Agnes Moffatt Williams(1904-1988). His father was a Biology teacher at H.B. Plant High School in Tampa, before he opened a surgical supply store in Jacksonville, where Grier partially grew up. Grier spent his formative years in Palma Ceia, before briefly living in Miami. Grier then moved to Jacksonville, where he attended Robert E. Lee High School. Grier was a member of the band at Lee High, playing the trumpet. Williams's maternal grandfather, James S. Moffatt(1860-1922), was the president of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_College Erskine College] in South Carolina from 1907 until 1921. Williams's great-grandfather, W.M. Grier(1843-1899), served as President, as well as his great-great grandfather, R.C. Grier(1817-1871), and grand-uncle, R.E. Grier(1881-1974). Two of Grier's maternal uncles, Dr. James S. Moffatt Jr. and Dr. L. Gaston Moffatt were College Professors, with the latter teaching internationally in Spain. A paternal great-great grandfather of Williams, Dr. Archibald Barron, was a signer of the 1860 South Carolina Ordinance of Seccession, an important document that was influential in the beginning of the Civil War. Grier went to high school in Williams attended Davidson College, where he met his wife, [[Louise Harvin Williams|Louise Harvin]]. A lifelong musician, his instrument of choice was the trumpet.
Williams founded the [[UWF Music Department|Music Department]] of the nascent [[University of West Florida]] in [[1967]] and helped it earn national accreditation.
Williams retired from the PSO in [[1996]]. He was succeeded by [[Peter Rubardt]], who praised Williams for setting the orchestra "on a path to professionalism."
He passed away on [[April 19]], [[2004]] while recovering from a heart attack.
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