Dr. Perry T. Williams, Jr.

Prominent Omaha physician and strong advocate for healthcare, the arts and the catholic faith, Dr. Perry T. Williams Jr., passed away peacefully at home on Friday morning.

Perry is preceded in death by his parents, Perry and Catherine (nee MacRae) Williams, wife Donna (nee Hodges), infant daughter Diane and brother John MacRae “Mac” Williams.

He is survived by sons, Perry III, Stephen, M.D. (Lori) and Mark Williams (Cindy Bokhof); grandchildren, Eric (Kristine Hull), Scott, Tim (Kit), Paul (Amy), Daniel (Maureen), John (Jackie) Williams and Kathleen (Jimmy) Huerter, and four great grandchildren.

Perry was born on June 23, 1923 in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. While in his teens, the Williams family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah. There he and his older brother Mac attended Memorial High School, where in 1941, Perry graduated at the top of his class. Shortly thereafter, the two brothers boarded a train for Omaha where they were enrolled at Creighton University.

When the U.S. entered World War II, Perry enlisted and as a part of the Army Specialized Training Program transferred to Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1944, he returned to Omaha to become a part of the Creighton Medical School class of 1947 and was class president all three years.

After finishing his medical residency, Captain Perry Williams was a Flight Surgeon for the Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue.

In 1949, he launched the first Red Cross blood center in Omaha. One of the center’s first employees was a young woman named Donna Hodges. It didn’t take long for Perry and Donna to fall in love. Two years later they married and started a family.

In 1953, Dr. Williams started a private medical practice. That same year he joined the faculty at Creighton Medical School where he was a clinical instructor until 1960.

In 1954, he helped launch the Academy of Family Physicians and later became a Life Member. Over the next five decades, Perry continued to be an advocate for physicians and their patients. In 1978, he served as president of the Midwest Clinical Society. In 1986, he was president of the Metropolitan Omaha Medical Society. From 1991 to 1992, he was the president of the Nebraska Medical Association.

Perry and Donna were, for many decades, actively involved with the arts in Omaha, particularly Joslyn Art Museum, the Omaha Symphony and the Cathedral Arts Project. In fact, both remained a part of Joslyn’s Contemporary Art Society until their deaths. Along the way, Perry also became a rather extraordinary artist.

They were also advocates for Catholicism and for many years were actively involved with the Institute of Priestly Formation. In 2013, they were honored together with the organization’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Award, which annually recognizes two or three people who exercise, in practical ways, the gift of humble faith.

Throughout his life Perry had a lot of fun too. He and Donna enjoyed traveling, visiting museums, live music, entertaining and a very wide circle of friends. Perry loved telling jokes. He also loved tennis, sailing, golf, bridge, studying art, a good mystery, Nebraska football and Creighton basketball. But more than anything else, Perry loved his family.



Perry Williams always led by example, through devotion to his family, his friends and his faith.

Mass of Christian Burial Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019 at 11:00AM with Visitation 1 hour prior at 10:00AM at Christ the King Catholic Church, 654 S. 86th St, Omaha. Family will receive friends Monday beginning at 5:00PM followed by a Wake Service at 7:00PM at John A. Gentleman Mortuaries 72nd Street Chapel. Interment with Military Honors at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the Institute of Priestly Formation or Cathedral Arts Projects.