Reginald Victor Williams Jr. ’53

Vic died Sept. 3, 2020, in Buffalo, N.Y.

He was born in Buffalo and came to Princeton from the Nichols School. Vic joined Charter Club and majored in modern languages. He wrote his thesis on “Valle-Inclán and Mexico” after traveling through the jungles and mountains of Mexico and Central America on his Harley-Davidson with a guitar on his back and a .38 revolver on his hip, following in the author’s footsteps. His thesis was featured in the Princeton Library and he was recognized with the National Spanish Award for excellence. Vic led the Princeton hockey team to a league championship, sang in the Princeton Glee Club, and started his own band, the Tiger Blacknotes.

After graduation Vic went into the Navy and then returned to Buffalo as executive vice president of the Williams Gold Refining Co., a family company that manufactured precious metal alloys used in dentistry and electronics.

Vic is survived by his wife of 65 years, Sidonie; his children Tory, Niña, John ’84, and Risa ’85; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.