Leroy Williams

Leroy Williams was born in New Orleans, Louisi­ana in 1937. The Navy brought him to Bremerton in the late 1950s, and it was where he met and married his wife, Verna. Together, they raised three children. He served in the Navy for eight years.

Williams graduated from Olympic College in 1969 with an associate’s de­gree in art. The Washington State Soci­ety of Certified Public Accountants awarded Mr. Williams the Olympic Col­lege Wall Street Journal Award and a full paid scholarship to the University of Washington.

While working full time at the Boe­ing Company, Williams attended the University of Washington, and he graduated with a bachelor’s de­gree in business administration. He earned his mas­ter’s degree from the University of Puget Sound. He later returned to Olympic College where he taught ac­counting. Williams was an internal audit manager for Metro Transit in Seattle. He was the finance director for Washington Gov. Gary Locke. He served on the Brem­erton school board for 20 years, from 1971-1991. He was the first African-American to have served on the board and spearheaded efforts to recruit teachers and other staff from minority groups. In 1972, he was suc­cessful in getting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’ s birthday recognized as a holiday in the Bremerton School Dis­trict, 10 years before it became a national holiday. Williams is a 33rd Degree Mason and a lifetim member of the NAACP. He worked on a number of projects to benefit children, education and the com­munity. He has been recognized and received numer­ous awards for his contributions to education, busi­ness and social development on the local, state and national level. He has also received accolades for his work on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Fund and the African-American Affairs Commission. He also earned the State of Washington Distinguished Citizen Award and is a member of The Olympic Col­lege Hall Of Fame. Mr. Leroy Williams, you are indeed “That Manner of Man” that Dr. Martin Luther King envisioned.