BIOGRAPHY / OBITUARY

Eugene Varner Williams was born to Dr. L. L. and Helen Varner Williams on December 22, 1923 at St. Luke’s Hospital in El Dorado, Kansas, the second of two sons.  Like his older brother, Wade, he exhibited a talent for art early in life, drawing since he was three years old.  The family lived at 501 West Central Avenue.

Gene Williams was a multi-talented individual who made friends easily.  He was devoted to his family and found expression in his artistic abilities.  According to him, he received the nickname “Yogi” in grade school because he could hold his breath longer than anyone else.

While still in high school, Wade and Gene made many in-depth studies into American Indian art, customs and traditions, having Native American blood through their father’s line.  They became adept in performing Indian dance in authentic costume for schools and various organizations.

Showing a remarkable ability in cartooning, Williams sent some of his work in to the Walt Disney Studios in California while still in high school.  This led to a job offer with the company, but his parents felt he was too young and refused to let him go.

Following graduation from high school in 1941, he enrolled as a pre-med student at the University of Kansas that fall.  During this time, he designed what came to be known as the “Fighting Jayhawk”.

Like most young men of his day, he registered for the draft following America’s entry into World War II, reporting for duty in December of 1942.  He served as infantry rifleman and company aid-man with General Patton’s army division in Europe.  During his free time, he made sketches and cartoons for various army publications.  Amid the land of castles and knighthood, he also used this time to collect various suits of armor and interesting swords, which he sent home to his parents.  He was discharged in April of 1946.

He re-enrolled at KU the next fall, this time majoring in fine arts.  But when his father died in November, he dropped out of college.  He worked at odd jobs, including work for a printer in Wichita and a brief stint in commercial art in New York City, before moving to Taos, New Mexico, where his brother owned an art studio.  While sharing the studio, he also studied fine arts at the University of New Mexico.

Marrying Virginia “Ginny” Tolle in El Dorado in June of 1948, the couple returned to Taos.  Wade had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease, a form of lymphatic cancer.  During his illness, Gene’s interest in the medical field was re-kindled.  Following Wade’s death in 1949, he decided to complete his pre-med studies.

Graduating from the University of New Mexico the following June with a degree in fine arts, he sold the art studio and returned to the University of Kansas for his medical degree, which he received in 1954.  He completed one year of internship at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, followed by four years’ residency training in ear, nose and throat at the KU Medical Center in Kansas City.

Moving to Phoenix to begin a private practice, the couple’s daughter, Betsy, was born in 1959, followed by a son, Wade, born in 1964.

In January of 1969, Williams suffered a heart attack.  Deciding to slow down to a simpler way of life, the family decided to move back to their home town in 1970.  Williams also hoped to have more fun with his art, nurturing a hope that it would gain recognition and become a means of support.  They made their new home at 1535 Country Club Road in El Dorado.

Williams’ new practice opened in the Barnhill Building at 200 West Ash.  Decorated to Williams’ taste, the consultation room contained a helmet, shield and broadsword, authentic museum pieces over 500 years old, and a jousting helmet Williams created himself.  The walls held many original works of art, many created by the doctor and his late brother, Wade.

On July 4, 1979, Williams and his friend, Wichita travel agent John Siefkes, planned to enjoy a short ride in Siefkes’ hot-air balloon.  The balloon launched prematurely when the rope anchoring it to the ground broke.  A power cord used to operate an electric fan, which kept the balloon inflated while on the ground, was inadvertently left dangling from the carriage.  Normally this cord would be unplugged before take-off.

Investigators of the following accident said that the men probably never realized the danger they were in, not knowing of the cord’s presence.  The cord hit a 69,000-volt power line, electrocuting the men inside.  They died on route to the hospital.

Williams held memberships in many organizations, among them the National Woodcarvers Association, the American Physicians Art Association, the Artists and Blacksmiths Association of North America, the Archeological Institute of America, the Society of Military Collectors and Historians, and the Arms and Armourers’ Society of England.

He was a fellow member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, as well as various state and local medical groups.

A member of Nu Gamma Nu and Phi Gamma Delta fraternities, he was also a life member of the Kansas University Alumni Association.  He belonged to Trinity Episcopal Church, the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce, the El Dorado Country Club, the Rotary Club, and Butler County Historical Society.


CONNECTION TO BUTLER COUNTY

Gene Williams grew up in El Dorado, attending local schools from McKinley grade school through senior high.  As cartoonist-artist of the El Doradoan, he created numerous illustrations used throughout the yearbook.  He also played football, graduating in 1941.

His father, Dr. L. L. Williams, came to El Dorado as a young physician, establishing his home and medical practice here.  Combining an interest in art and medicine reflected a family tradition.  Gene’s mother was an artist before taking nurse’s training. His father was a concert trombonist before he attended medical school.  He was also an amateur photographer; during World War II, he enjoyed developing film that Gene sent him from the European theater of combat.


LEAVING & RETURNING TO THE AREA

After high school, Williams left El Dorado to attend the University of Kansas.  His schooling was interrupted when America entered World War II.  When his father died following the war, he returned to El Dorado for a short time before moving on to New York, then Taos, New Mexico, where he joined his brother in owning and operating an art studio.

Later attending medical school in Lawrence, Kansas and a residency in Kansas City, he set up a private practice in Phoenix, Arizona, where he lived 11 years.  After suffering a heart attack, he and his wife decided to simplify their lives, returning to El Dorado.