Walter Daken Williams

Walter Dakin Williams was the younger brother of playwright Tennessee Williams, Dakin Williams died at the age of 89 at the Dammert Geriatric Center, Our Lady of the Snows National Shrine in Belleville. He was the son of Cornelius and Edwina, nee Dakin, Williams.

Mr. Williams was a retired attorney, politician, and author. He is buried alongside his mother and brother at Calvary Cemetery.

The following is gleaned from his obituary in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, dated 21 Mary 2008...

"Walter Dakin Williams, a Collinsville attorney who admittedly lived in the shadow of his older brother, playwright Tennessee Williams, died Tuesday (May 20, 2008) at Dammert Geriatric Center at Our Lady of the Snows in Belleville. He was 89.

Mr. Williams, who went by Dakin, was also an author, politician, amateur actor and character in his own right. Though he and Tennessee were eight years apart and had little in common, Mr. Williams jokingly referred to himself as "a professional brother" who said he was not resentful of being overshadowed.

"It's very hard to live up to that, but he definitely enjoyed that sort of notoriety he got from it," said his daughter, Francesca Williams of Collinsville. "I can't say he was the life of the party, but he enjoyed celebrating life with other people."

He received his bachelor's and law degrees from Washington University and was pursuing an MBA at Harvard when he was drafted into service in World War II. He was an assistant U.S. attorney in East St. Louis before entering private law practice. He continued to practice and do pro bono work into his 80s.

Mr. Williams often spoke and performed at literary festivals, singing some of Tennessee's poems that he set to music. He also wrote several books, a few of which were about his brother."

Mr. Williams married Joyce G. Croft on 15 October 1955 in Texas. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2005, and she died later that year.

Dakin Williams is survived by his daughters Francesca Williams and Anne Caserta; as well as two granddaughters, Gianna and Christina Caserta.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 19 2021, 3:54:46 UTC