ROBERT S. WILLIAMS
May 17, 1928-July 6, 2011
MOUNT OLIVE -- Robert S. "Bob" Williams, 83, retired president and chief executive officer of Southern Bank and Trust Co., passed away Wednesday afternoon.
Services to celebrate his life will be held Friday at 6 p.m. at Tyndall Funeral Home, with Dr. Dennis Atwood officiating. Burial will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at Thanksgiving Baptist Church Cemetery near Selma.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home immediately after the service, and at other times at 663 Massey Road, Dudley.
Mr. Williams began his banking career June 20, 1954, with First Citizens Bank and Trust Co. in Kinston, where he remained until May 19, 1962, when he joined the staff of Bank of Mount Olive which, in time became Southern Bank and Trust Co. Mr. Williams enjoyed an illustrious banking career with Southern, having been named assistant vice president in 1962, vice president and secretary in 1964, executive vice president and secretary in 1970, and being named to its board of directors in 1971.
Dec. 16, 1975, he was named president of Southern Bank and Trust Company and Southern BancShares. His career culminated, while in his presidency, of his being named chief executive officer, and later as chairman of the board, from which he retired in July of 2009. It was during through his guidance and planning that the bank progressed from an "embryo" stage into an expanded and profitable multi-branched, mature and acknowledged leader amongst financial institutions, bringing Southern Bank to the forefront in banking circles across the state of North Carolina.
Mr. Williams, born in Johnston County, had been a longtime Mount Olive area resident.
He was a member of First Baptist Church of Mount Olive, a Mason and a member of Mount Olive Methodist Church's "Peanut Crew."
Preceded in death by his parents, Clair Avery Williams and Bessie Eason Williams; a brother, C.A. Williams Jr.; and a sister, Mary W. Ellis; he is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, David and Gail Williams of Dudley; a daughter and son-in-law, Linda W. and Joe Holp of Durham; four grandchildren, Jennifer Holp and her fiancé, John Lack, Heather Holp, Joseph Holp and Brad Williams; and a brother, Bill Williams of Fredericksburg, Va.
A Tyndall service, www.tyndallfh.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on July 8, 2011 1:48 PM