Til we meet again, Bishop Bruce Williams

Husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, son, brother, uncle, and bishop Dr. Bruce Call Williams, age 80, passed peacefully into eternity on Monday, April 28, 2023 at his Bloomington home with his loving family at his bedside.

 

Born in Provo, Utah to LaMar S. and Nyal B. Williams on December 21, 1942, a teenage Bruce graduated from West High School. He served an honorable mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints in Johannesburg, South Africa, then attended the University of Utah.  While there he went on a blind date with the 1^st runner up to the “Belle of the Y” set up by one of his best friends attending BYU.  He always said marrying Anita Louise Johnson was one of three things in life for which he was certain.  The other two certainties in his life were the absolute certainty his grandkids were made for him … and a puppy one of the kids brought home was meant for him, too.

 

Two children - Angel and Greg - soon blessed the young family while the future doctor continued his studies at the University of Utah graduating with a degree in medicine in 1970. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in Germany for 4 years. Soon after his return to the U.S., the Williams’ second son Nathan joined the family.

 

Medicine was his great and true passion.  This skilled surgeon was recruited by Dr. Craig Booth and Dr. Norman Fawson as the first General Vascular and Thoracic surgeon in St. George. His successful surgical practice opened in St. George in 1978 allowing him to provide his surgical prowess at the St. George Surgical Center on Bluff Street and a myriad of other care clinics in southern Utah.  It was also in St. George where the Williams’ family was completed with the birth of youngest daughter Mandy.

 

Among Bruce’s many accomplishments, he served as a delegate for the Utah Medical Association, a member of the Governor’s Task Force for Domestic Violence, Chief-of-Staff at Dixie Regional Medical Center, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and selflessly as a beloved Bishop for the Bloomington 7th Ward. 

 

In his limited spare time, he loved water and snow skiing, gardening, fishing, traveling, stamp and coin collecting, and attending any sport or activity involving his grandchildren. He loved watching basketball avidly following Dixie College to a National Championship in 1985 but he also always cheered for the Utah Jazz, even in their bad years. He was a true storyteller and always had a unique way of captivating his audience. 

 

Dr. Williams is survived by his beloved wife, Anita Louise; his children: Angela Ann Williams, Bruce Gregory (Rachael) Williams, Jon Nathan (LoraLynn) Williams, and Mandy Lynn (Mason) Wells; his siblings: LaMar (Mary Kay), Roger (LeAnn), Steven (Lana), Gloria Yeates, Michael (Tammy), and Jerry (Kaylene); as well as 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Marilyn (Don) Brady; brother-in-law, John Yeates; and grandson, Ian Paulson.

 

Dr. Bruce Williams was a man loved by many and who will be greatly missed by all who knew him.  He is interred at Lakeview Memorial Park in Bountiful, Utah.