Ex-Judge Jimmy Williams dies at 78

Williams served as 1st Circuit judge for more than a decade from 1998 until his retirement. During that time, he presided over cases in 40 of South Carolina’s 46 counties, including a number of high-profile ones in the 1st Circuit counties of Orangeburg, Calhoun and Dorchester.

Williams won praise from prosecutors and defense attorneys for his commitment to justice and the rule of law.

First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said at the 2009 unveiling of a portrait of Williams at Orangeburg County Courthouse that he heard someone say that justice doesn’t take place inside the courtroom. He said he thought about it and agreed.

“The mark of a good judge is to make sure that justice comes out of a courtroom,” he said. “And that is the legacy of Jimmy Williams.”

Prior to being elected by the legislature to serve as a judge, Williams was chief deputy solicitor for the 1st Circuit, a position he held for six years. Earlier Williams was in private legal practice with Marshall, Nicholson and Williams; Nicholson and Williams; and Williams and Houser.

But there is more to Williams’ story than a lifetime of legal service.

After graduating from Clemson University in 1965, he set about farming in Norway. Some years into working the land, he decided to attend law school at the University of South Carolina.

Williams received his degree in 1979 and began a legal career that earned him praise as a top judge and most recently the state’s highest honor, the Order of the Palmetto.

After retirement, Williams did not sit still. He moved to Seneca, nearer his beloved Clemson University, and began a business, Palmetto Custom Metal & Woodcraft. The business specializes in ornamental, decorative art and metal signage. It was an endeavor that Williams said was a natural for him in using skills such as welding gained on the farm.

Though Williams called Seneca home in later life, he served his native Norway while living in Orangeburg County. For 23 years, he was either mayor or a council member for the town.

Williams will be remembered with a memorial service in Seneca on Monday before his funeral at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Willow Swamp Baptist Church in Norway. Dukes-Harley Funeral Home of Orangeburg is in charge of arrangements.

A full obituary for Judge Williams can be found on A3 today.