Bartholomew P. Williams

Bartholomew Williams

Bartholomew Paul Williams died December 8, 2012, on the CSUSB campus in San Bernardino. Known as "Bart" to family and friends, he was a graduate student in the School of Education at the University at the time of his death. He was born on September 10, 1974, in San Diego, California the youngest child and only son in the family. He lived in the San Diego area enjoying the beach and the weather until he was 6 years old when his family moved to Northern California and then to Portland, Oregon. Bart attended Robert Gray Elementary School in Portland where he and his father, Dr. E. Paul Williams, were active in Boy Scouts. Together, they attended Boy Scout camp every summer. Bart rose as high as the Order of the Arrow when the family moved to Missouri. Bart began a love of journalism, politics and popular culture--including sports--riding with his father to school each morning and listening to NPR. He worked in major political campaigns throughout college and beyond, and continued to read and listen to NPR to the time of his death. Bart played in the Portland area soccer leagues and was a referee as a high school student. He also loved swimming and earned a letter in swimming at Lincoln High School in Portland which he attended through his junior year. He also was one of a few students who were selected by their peers as good listeners with whom they might share concerns or problems. He was a WSI swim instructor and swim coach in the summers in high school and between college semesters. When the family moved to Kansas City in his senior year, Bart completed high school at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy where he studied and excelled academically in the International Baccalaureate Program. He taught and coached swimming in the summers by riding his bike daily several miles from job to job. He studied at Penn Valley Community college before being accepted as one of the limited number of transfer students to the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. At UVA, Bart was elected to Student Council, the elite Jefferson Debate Society, and UGuides, and he wrote a column for the school paper. He was a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, his father's fraternity. Bart earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri Kansas City in Missouri, and a Master's in Library Science from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. He had been a long term substitute in the Columbia, Missouri School system before attending North Carolina Central. He was an intern in the UCR Library's Preservation department summer of 2012. Bart began a lifelong, periodic struggle with bipolar disorder in his early 20's. From time to time, NAMI and skillful therapists helped him and his family to cope with his illness. As a result, he was compassionate and helpful to others who struggled with mental illness, and he was able to complete most of his college graduate studies, write articles for small weekly newspapers as well as teach and coach swimming. Later, he would participate also in marathons and bicycle races. Bart is survived by his parents, Drs. E. Paul and Barbara Morrow Williams, his sisters and their spouses: Portia and Dr. David Mount; Cynthia Benin and Nelson Lemus, and two nieces and a nephew; his paternal grandmother, Janie Williams, his paternal uncle and his wife, Ralph and Sharon Williams, and his cousins Ralph and Stacey as well as friends and fraternity brothers. The family will hold a Celebration of Bart's life Saturday, January 26 at 1:00 pm at the Mariposa Lodge, 19311 Jess Ranch Parkway, Apple Valley, CA. Dr. Joe DeRoulhac, Jr., Pastor of First Baptist Church of Redlands will facilitate the Celebration and a lunch of Bart's favorite foods. In lieu of flowers, the family asks contributions in Bart's name to the national office of NAMI, 3803 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 100, Artlington, VA 22203. Sunset Funeral Care of Redlands is in charge of arrangements.