Walter Payten Williams

Walter Payten Williams, retired educator, died at his home on July 20, 2022 after a brief struggle with cancer. A family service will be held at the military cemetery in Keithville, Louisiana. Payten was born on October 4, 1937 in Natchitoches. After high school, he served in the Navy, returned home to attend Northwestern and married Peggy Duke on June 4, 1959. After completing his undergraduate degree, at Purdue University in Indiana, he entered the teaching profession as a biology and math teacher. Relocating to Missouri, he completed his Master’s Degree at the University of Missouri in Administration, and became a high school principal. As a high school principal at Fort Zumwalt in Missouri, he was known for his commitment to the district, his teachers and students, frequently reminding them to “do the right thing.”He finished his career as an elementary principal in the same school district, guiding the children of the parents who had once been his students. After retiring, he and his wife, Peggy, returned to his home town, where he enjoyed being an active part of the community. He belonged to the Walter Ledet Coffee Club, Kiwanis, Friends of the Library and the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society, and was a member of the First United Methodist Church. Those left to cherish his memory include his wife of sixty-three years, his sons, Walt and Ron, brothers Tom (Betty) and Roger (Ursula) and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents, Mary and Tom, his brother, Kerney, and his daughter Kellen. During this period of mourning, we are looking at the world through tears; perhaps we shall see things that dry-eyed, we could not see.