[Nhcoll-l] Passing of Stephen L. Williams

[Revelez, Marcia (CDC/OPHSS/CSELS/DLS)]

[cid:image002.jpg at 01D42B50.29E1F800]It is with profound sadness that I share the shocking news of the passing of our dear friend, Stephen L. Williams.  He was the prototype for the Collection Manager and he had such a strong impact on how we manage natural history collections today - he helped define the museum professional.  His body of work includes over 130 publications, nearly 100 of those contributing to the body of knowledge about collections care and management.  He was a native west Texan from Midland (where my family is from).  He received undergraduate and master's degrees in biology as well as another master's in Museum Science at Texas Tech University.   His career included positions at the Natural Science Research Laboratory at Tech, Carnegie Museum, and Strecker Museum at Baylor (now the Mayborn).  He was a great mammalogist too and he combined the best of field research, mammal systematics, taxonomy, and broke ground on research pertaining to collections.

He was a strong family man, and the video at the end of his obituary can attest to that.  We will miss you Steve.  Rest well.
Obituary link: https://www.lakeshorefuneralhome.com/dr-stephen-l-williams/ . The funeral was today in Waco, TX.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Dup15q Alliance (https://dup15q.networkforgood.com/projects/43843-support-the-dup15q-alliance-mission).


When I traveled to my first SPNHC meeting and met him as a young professional - I felt like I was meeting the Father of Collections Management - and maybe he was.  I still remember stalking him and wanting to talk to him and learn as much as I could about his history and contributions - what a privilege.  He was always encouraging and supportive and of course we had our Texas bond.  I always thought that if you are a collections manager in mammalogy - there isn't much that you do that didn't originate from him.  My fondest memories will be all of those conversations but most of all dancing with him at those SPNHC banquets.

Please feel free to use this email string to share memories of Steve.



Marcy Revelez
Collections Manager and Acting Team Lead, CDC Biorepository
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[NEW approved logo-CMYK]

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