Jeffrey Allen Williams
April 6, 2021
Jeffrey Allen Williams, of Pace, Florida, beloved husband, son, brother, uncle, friend, and mentor to many, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on April 1, 2021, as a result of a motor vehicle accident.
In both his personal and professional lives, Jeffrey was kind, loving, devoted, generous, selfless, and humble. He embodied loyalty and integrity. He loved the Lord and his family, and he cherished the deep friendships he forged in life. His behind-the-scenes generosity benefited countless individuals.
Born on September 1, 1966, Jeffrey was the son of Linda Kay Williams and Kenneth George Williams. He began his life on a farm in Jamestown, North Dakota, and fell in love with engines at the age of 9, when his father gave him complete responsibility for driving and maintaining an 830 John Deere tractor. Jeffrey quickly acclimated to the Southern way of life, even acquiring a Southern accent after moving with his mother and sister, Shari Kaye Andrews, to Vestavia Hills, Alabama, at the age of 12. Jeffrey graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1984. He was a proud member of the Rebels’ marching band and an award-winning jazz ensemble, in which he played the trombone with great skill.
Jeffrey attended The University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he majored in mechanical engineering. He was a brother in the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and was delighted when his nephew, John M. Hunnicutt, III, became a Lambda Chi brother at Huntingdon College of Montgomery, Alabama.
Following high school, Jeffrey worked as a crew chief with his friends Roger and Bobby Reuse in short track stock car racing, which some consider to be the real NASCAR. They competed in various venues, including Darlington Raceway, Daytona International Speedway, and the Snowball Derby at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola. It was at a race in Daytona where Jeffrey met his first wife, Evelyn “Evie” Lewis of Boone, North Carolina. Up to the time of his passing, Jeffrey maintained a warm friendship with Evie.
Jeffrey began his career in the HVAC business in 1984, working as a draftsman for Alabama Controls of Birmingham. Subsequently, he worked as a Controls Engineer, Controls Salesman, Controls Contracting Project Manager, and finally Senior Account Manager and Sales Engineer for Trane, a Division of the Ingersoll-Rand Company. Jeffrey received many awards and accolades while at Trane, including the 1990 Pace Setter Award; he also became a member of the 2003 Million Dollar Chiller Club and 2005 Million Dollar Club. Jeffrey left Trane in September 2014 and devoted his attention to one of his greatest passions-cars. He bought, sold, repaired, renovated, and hauled vehicles from all over the country with his friend and business partner, Ben Milam, previously of U Park U Sell of Prattville, Alabama.
From 2008 to 2014, Jeffrey served as the Executive Director of Vettes-4-Vets of Birmingham. He planned, organized, and oversaw multiple fundraising events to enrich the lives of our nation’s Veterans and their families. Jeffrey provided the logistics and led the primary annual fundraiser for Vettes-4-Vets at the Talladega Superspeedway. The event included a car show, Veterans’ appreciation ceremony and dinner, and track day at the Talladega Superspeedway for over 250 Corvette aficionados from multiple states, with annual attendance of 700 or more. Jeffrey is a Lifetime Member of the National Corvette Museum, and he served as the Ambassador to the National Corvette Museum for the Capitol City Corvette Club of Montgomery from 2006 to 2014. Jeffrey also served as President of the Mid-Alabama Corvette Club of Birmingham. His favorite places to be were car shows, with friends on the track, or driving the Tail of the Dragon. He was conferred the rank of “Dragon Slayer” in October 2009 by the Confederation of Corvette Clubs of Louisiana.
On January 1, 2015, Jeffrey married Allison Hunnicutt. To cement their relationship and Allison’s love of Corvettes, Jeffrey gave Allison a 2009 Crystal Red Metallic Corvette Coupe for Valentine’s Day 2014. Allison and Jeffrey enjoyed racing their Corvettes at the Montgomery Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and Robling Road with their cherished friends in the Capitol City Corvette Club. Their great love story will live on in Allison’s heart forever, as Jeffrey was the love of Allison’s life.
In March 2016, Jeffrey took a job with Air-Tech of Pensacola, where he worked as an Outside Sales Engineer until the time of his passing. Jeffrey became an expert in Variable Refrigerant Volume (VRV) technology.
Jeffrey loved his churches-The Church at Brook Hills of Birmingham, Morningview Baptist Church of Montgomery, and Olive Baptist Church of Pensacola (and his Route 66 Connection Group at Olive). At The Church at Brook Hills, Jeffrey served as a sound technician under Reverend Rick Ousley and worship pastor Kelly Stephenson, while Evie served as worship leader.
Jeffrey is survived by his loving family, including wife Allison; father Kenneth George Williams (Donna Walsh); brother Kenneth George Williams, II (Becki Jo); sister Shari Kaye Andrews; step brothers Philip C. Roberts (Ashley Barkocy Roberts), Mike Roberts (Carol), and Shaun Roberts (Hope); brothers-in-law Jack Hunnicutt (Dwayne) and John M. Hunnicutt, Jr. (DeAna); sister-in-law Alexis Hunnicutt (fiancĂ© Andrew Turk); numerous nieces and nephews; and dear friends whom he considered his brothers and sisters. Before his passing, Jeffrey filled the beautiful home he built for Allison with family members, who brought both of them endless joy, love, and laughter. The four special guests at the Williams B&B at the time of Jeffrey’s passing into Glory include niece Bowen Hunnicutt Rapala (Mark), Bowen and Mark’s two-year old son Hudson, niece Macy Shae Barkocy, and nephew Jeremiah Holcomb. As a child at heart, Jeffrey delighted in having a baby in his home and was enchanted by Baby Hudson. Jeffrey was an extremely loving, caring, and devoted man.
Jeffrey was preceded in death by his mother, Linda Kay Glass, and step-mother, Reba Williams.
Jeffrey, you are in our thoughts, in our hearts, and in every part of our lives. You will always be with us; and we will always be with you.
In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to Word Walk, Inc., 6847 N. 9th Avenue, Suite A-177, Pensacola, Florida 32504, www.wordwalk.us.
Arrangements are with Faith Chapel Funeral Homes, 1000 S. Highway 29, Cantonment, Florida 32533. Services will be held on Saturday, April 10, 2021, with visitation at 12:00 p.m., and a Celebration of Life at 1:00 p.m., followed by a light lunch in the event room.
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One Response to “Jeffrey Allen Williams”
Just thought I would recognize the passing of this man. I try to read all obituaries. This one caught my attention. May God bless Jeff’s soul and bless his family and friends.