Byron F. Williams, 81, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2013, at his home in Zanoni, Va.

He was born in Newport News, Va., to the late Ambrose Byron and Laetitia Golterman Williams. He graduated from St. Vincent Catholic School in Newport News, and from Catholic University in Washington, D.C., with a degree in architecture. He attended Bellamy United Methodist Church in Gloucester County.

Byron’s legacy of caring, encouragement and love of family will be felt by many people for years to come. Throughout Gloucester and the Peninsula area, the beautiful buildings he designed are also a part of his enduring legacy.

He was always ready to talk politics and if you were inclined to engage him in that conversation, you had better have had your facts right! He had a high moral standard and he lived up to it every day of his life. The sparkle in his eyes and his easy laugh will be sorely missed.

In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his sisters, Ursula, Eileen and Laetitia.

Byron is survived by his wife of 58 years, Nancy; their children, Byron and wife Ann and companion Mary Greenman, Mark, Cynthia and husband Todd Geisert, Mary Kathryn and husband Charlie Dunston, Gregory and wife Paula, Phillip and companion Lyn Stewart. He is also survived by his sister, Josephine Gillman; 19 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren, all of whom he loved dearly.

The family received friends at Andrews Funeral Home on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 5-6:30 p.m. The funeral service was held at Bellamy United Methodist Church on Sunday, Oct. 6, at 2 p.m. by the Rev. Kenneth Waclo. Burial was in the Bellamy Memorial Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to either Bellamy United Methodist Church, 4870 Chestnut Fork Road, Gloucester, Va. 23061 or to Riverside Walter Reed Hospice, 7358 Main Street, Gloucester, Va. 23061.