The University of South Florida community mourns the passing of Wayne Williams, the husband of President Rhea Law

Married for 39 years, USF President Rhea Law and Wayne Williams met over a CB radio as Law was commuting on a daily basis from Tampa to the Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport. Though "really taken" with his voice, Law initially refused to respond to Williams. After a few weeks of hearing him on the CB radio, she accepted his invitation to join him for breakfast - a granola bar and a cup of coffee - at a scenic overlook near the Howard Frankland Bridge.

"I parked behind him and stayed in my car," Law recalled in a previous interview. "He looked OK outside the car, but I didn't open the door. I would only roll my window down. And we agreed we'd meet again."

As their relationship developed, she learned that Williams started racing cars as a teenager, including at the Sebring, Florida, International Raceway and the Daytona International Speedway, which paired neatly with Law's passion for racing. The first gift she received from him was a three-day course at Sebring, and when she returned home, Law told Williams they needed a race car. Over the course of the next year, they built one from the ground up and proceeded to enter races all over the Southeast.

As Law began her tenure as USF president, the couple continued to make it a tradition to start each morning by having breakfast together, and in recent years included saving time to read about two chapters of the Bible per day. The two best friends have been active members of Idlewild Baptist Church since 1995, with one of the church's pastors delivering the invocation at Law's presidential inauguration ceremony in 2023.

Williams shared his wife's enthusiasm for USF, often joining her in attending various USF events, fundraisers and Bulls games. The couple's philanthropic impact on the university spans 28 years, including a contribution to name the grand staircase in the Judy Genshaft Honors College building, which opened last year. At the time, Law said that when she and Williams explored the opportunities to show their support, they selected the staircase because it symbolized the college's goal of helping students ascend to greater heights.

They also have generously supported the USF Alumni Association, Athletics, Women in Leadership and Philanthropy, Brunch on the Bay, the Stampede for Women, student success, USF Health and scholarships.

After serving in the U.S. Army from 1958 through 1961, Williams earned a degree in electronic engineering from the University of Florida. During his professional career, he served as the international director of marketing and sales for GTE Lenkurt, the manufacturing arm of the GTE Corp. He also was the president of U.S. Comm-sults, a telecommunications consulting firm.

Williams was involved in a variety of professional and civic organizations, including the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, the Community Development Corp., the Telephone Pioneering Group, the Sports Car Club of America, and he was a proud member of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.

Williams passed away on Sept. 19 at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife, Rhea F. Law, son Gregory Williams, daughter Lisa Williams, son-in-law Jason Kammerdiener, brother Claude Williams, grandson Ryan Williams and granddaughter Samantha Williams.

Services to celebrate his life will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Idlewild Baptist Church, 18333 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., in Lutz. A visitation is scheduled for 10 a.m. and a service will begin at 11 a.m. A livestream will be available here. A brief graveside service will follow at 2 p.m. at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, 4202 E. Lake Ave., in Tampa.

A memorial fund through the USF Foundation has been created in Williams' honor. The fund will benefit numerous university programs and initiatives that Williams and Law have supported over the years.