John H. Williams II ’56

John died March 2, 2026, in Bennington, Vt.

He came to Princeton from Tottenville High School on Staten Island, N.Y., where he participated in debating, Boys State, and the National Honor Society. John majored in the Woodrow Wilson School, joined Campus Club, and served as vice president of Whig Clio and as a member of the Undergraduate Council. After graduating from Columbia Law School, he headed to Vermont, where he set up a law practice and met his wife-to-be Deborah and together, they built a “dream house” and raised four children.

Always interested in public service, John served as founding member and chair of the Mt. Anthony Union High School board, chair of the board of trustees of Bennington College and its interim president, a trustee of Southern Vermont Medical Center and the Vermont Human Services Board, and a vestryman and senior warden of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.

John is survived by his wife and their children: Lane Hadley Williams, Sarah Gay Dagher, Amanda Van Pelt Dube, Hall Cushman Williams, and a “daughter in spirit” Mary Catherine Wright; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandsons (one of whom is named Princeton).