FreeLists / bristol-birds / [Bristol-Birds] Ed Williams III, friend of BBC and conservation dies

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Ed Williams III, a prominent Johnson City attorney, died peacefully at 7:30 
this morning, Tuesday Oct. 26th.  He was at home with his sons and his sister.

He fought a battle with cancer but never let it get him down or take him away 
from what he cared about.
 
Ed was a life-long conservationist and devoted his considerable talents and 
time to many organizations on the local, state and national level. 

He was, for many years, a state leader of The Nature Conservancy and board 
member of the Tennessee Chapter of TNC.  

He will long be remember by many of us for providing free legal service to The 
Nature Consverancy for the purchase of the Jess & Mae Jenkins Cranberry Bog in 
Shady Valley, TN.  He also convinced the president of East Tennessee State 
University to accept the property from The Nature Conservancy for the 
university's ownership and future management.

The Jenkins Cranberry Bog was the first ever project and land purchase by The 
Nature Conservancy in Tennessee's history.   It was an effort carried out by 
Ken Hale, Wallace Coffey, Dr. Charlie Smith and Dave McPeak and the drive to 
save the bog was begun by them in April 1978.  Ken Hale became the TNC's first 
steward to oversee the bog and work for its management.

When the project was finally concluded, Ed Williams was on the front row with 
all the legal work finished and ready to go for the big signing and reception 
at the Jenkins home.

Ed was also the attorney who was pitching in with The Nature Conservancy when 
the Bristol Bird Club made a giant effort to have The Nature Conservancy 
purchase the Austin Springs mudflats and migratory bird habitat on the upper 
end of Boone Lake along the Watauga River.  The lady who stills owns much of 
the best habitat, agreed to the concept of the sale and worked with the BBC and 
TNC for months before her family talked her out of the deal.

Ed Williams founded the Open Space Conservancy, a convervation group devoted to 
creating greenways in the Tri-Cities Area.  He came to the Bristol Bird Club as 
a speaker at our September 1993 meeting to help with the Austin Springs area.  
His Open Space Conservancy was declared "a national model of a regional land 
trust" by the U.S. Secretary of the Interrior.

In recent years he owned a farm along the South Fork of Holston River just 
below South Holston Dam next to Rivers Way in the Central Holston Community in 
Sullivan Co.

He was a special friend to the Appalachian RC&D Council in the past few years 
as co-founder of the Lands of Boone & Crockett Land Trust effort and for his 
support of SAGA - Southern Appalachian Greenways Alliance.  

He will be sorely missed as friend of conservation and personal friend of 
countless individuals who had the pleasure of knowing and spending time with 
him.

The arrangements are as follows:

Appalachian Funeral Home
800 East Watauga Ave.
Johnson City, TN

Friday night from 5-7  Visitation
Saturday morning 10:00 Funeral

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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