Roy Dale Williams

Roy Dale Williams, 89, passed away on October 26, 2021, in San Angelo.

Public viewing will from 9:00 Am until 8:00 PM and the family will receive friend from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM Friday, October 29, 2021, at Robert Massie Funeral Home in San Angelo. Funeral services will be at 10:00 AM Saturday, October 30, 2021, at the First United Methodist Church on Mertzon with Pastor Mark Krause, officiating. Burial will follow at the Mertzon Cemetery under the direction of Robert Massie Funeral Home. Military Honors will be afforded by the Ft. Hood Military Honor Guard.

Roy was born to Cecil and Gertrude (Hyde) Williams on November 28, 1931, on a farm in Concho County east of Eden. He grew up there and attended school at Brady Valley and Eden. Upon graduation from Eden High School, he worked as a jug hustler and Junior Seismic Observer on a geophysical crew in Schleicher, Sutton, and Crockett counties.

Roy entered the Army and was assigned to Operation Castle, the testing of six hydrogen bombs in the Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls of the Marshall Islands. This included the Bravo shot, which was the most powerful detonation of a bomb ever made by the United States.

After discharge from the Army, Roy obtained a degree in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Texas. He was involved with drilling and/or production operations in Texas; New Mexico; Louisiana; Arkansas; the Gulf of Mexico; Honduras; British Honduras (Belize), where he rode out Hurricane Hattie; Ecuador; Colombia; Venezuela; Canada; Spain (onshore and offshore); Turkey; Tunisia; and Bahrain.

He met and married Evelyn Annette Tankersley in 1962. They lived in Snyder; Midland; Hobbs, New Mexico; Midland again; Iowa Park; Quito, Ecuador; Bogota, Colombia; Madrid, Spain; Katy; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Wimberley; and Mertzon, where he volunteered for the Irion County Emergency Medical Services and the First United Methodist Church of Mertzon.

Roy is survived by his wife, Annette; son, Roderick Dale Williams and his wife Peggy; daughter, Ellen Claire Williams and her son (Roy's grandson) Joe Roy Stapleton; sisters, Janell Atchley and Ruth Reed; brother-in-law, Loye Tankersley and his wife Lynn; sister-in-law, Marie Tankersley; nieces and nephews, Joan Reynolds, Charles Atchley, Karen Sanchez, Cynthia Matlock, Mike Atchley, Jennifer Marbach, Becky Lange, Scott Tankersley, Lynn Bruder, James Tankersley, and Bill Tankersley; and numerous great- and great-great nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father, Cecil A. Williams; mother, Gertrude Williams; sister, Fay Reynolds and husband Bob; sister, Maetta Davis and her husband William "Dub"; brothers-in-law, Thurman Atchley, Marvin Reed, Jackie Tankersley and his wife Vennie, and Fayette Tankersley; sister-in-law, Vicki Tankersley; and nieces and nephews, Janet Davis McLennan, Rayburn Davis, Robert Reynolds, and Angeline Reed.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Irion County EMS, PO Box 575, Mertzon, Texas 76941.