John S. Williams, Jr. ’59 died on June 1, 2026, in Silver Springs, Maryland.
(The following was provided by the Washington Post on June 10, 2026:)
John Skelton Williams ’59
John Skelton Williams, international conservation consultant, died peacefully at home in Silver Spring, Maryland, surrounded by his family on June 1, 2026. Williams was born in Richmond, Virginia, on June 3, 1937, to parents Florence Higinbotham Williams and John Skelton Williams, Jr.
A sociologist who began his career teaching social research at the New School and University of Connecticut, Williams co-founded MetroStudy, a Washington, DC-based consulting firm that provided demographic research in urban housing, often for federal agencies during the Carter administration.
In 1973 he co-authored the book, Environmental Pollution and Mental Health, which bridged two isolated fields of study at a time when neither discipline acknowledged the other and which anticipated a robust emerging field.
Williams went on to work as a senior scientist at the World Conservation Union, where he helped pioneer the field of community-based conservation. He later served as a consultant and researcher for such organizations as the World Bank, the Population Reference Bureau, and the World Wildlife Fund throughout Asia, Indonesia, and Africa.
An avid sailor, paddler, hiker, and skier, Williams most enjoyed time in nature with friends and family. For many years, he was an active member of the Washington Canoe Club, joining member-friends and family in multi-day river trips throughout the country. He enjoyed many years serving on the board of directors of the American Rivers Conservation Council, now called American Rivers.
Williams embodied interests that might appear contradictory: poetry and technology, urbanism and wild landscapes, global travel and a quiet home life, soft spoken southern manners and a fierce environmentalism.
A graduate of Deerfield Academy followed by Bowdoin College in 1959, he earned a PhD in sociology from Princeton University. He is survived by his wife, Galina, his children Florence, Violet, John (Michelle), Berkeley (Jackie), stepson Victor (Anastasia) and four grandchildren.