December 9, 2013
1 min read

Tom Williams Dies of Heart Attack

Courtesy of SAC Athletics
Courtesy of SAC Athletics

By: Jorge Campos

Tom Williams, a life-long Don, died Nov. 6 of a heart attack at the age of 65.

Mr. Williams was an athletic equipment assistant at Santa Ana College for 35 years, retiring from the school in 2009.

“Tom was dedicated to SAC. He might have been a behind the scenes guy but did a lot of work for the college, especially basketball,” Sports Information Coordinator Jason Kehler said.

A scorekeeper for the Dons men’s basketball team, Mr. Williams attended every home and away game for 46 years, dating back to his days as a 19-year-old student at SAC in 1967.

“He was a very dedicated employee. All the time he kept score he volunteered his time,” said Dean of Kinesiology Avie Bridges, noting that his scorekeeping was done on personal time. “It was all after his regular work hours,” Bridges said.

After retirement Mr. Williams kept score for women’s basketball as well as the men’s team.

He traveled with both teams to away games and even preseason competition, which does not require scorekeeping, just to help both teams and watch them play.

“He traveled with them, he paid his own way. He just really loved basketball,” Athletic Trainer Garry Kinney said.

Aside from keeping score, Mr. Williams traveled to the same lake in Montana every year for vacation. He would stop at a favorite Utah buffet, Chuck-A-Rama, a highlight of his trip, Kinney said.

Mr. Williams led a simple life. Instead of a traditional memorial service, he asked that his close friends gather at a local Hometown Buffet to celebrate his life.

READ MORE:  Las Doñas make history with first win

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Story

Drowning In Student Debt

Next Story

Dons Advance to State Playoffs

Latest from Blog

Baseball – 20110308 – Fullerton

Author Recent Posts el Don News Latest posts by el Don News (see all) The two-party system is failing us. - October 19, 2024 Read our Fall 2023 Print: Vol. 100 No.

SAC student thoughts post election

Donald Trump won the 2024 election and will be our 47th president. After asking over 35 SAC students how they felt about the election results, some responded that they were upset, some
Go toTop