Obituary of Tristan Williams

Tristan V. Williams, 91, of Morgantown, known to his close friends as âT.V.â passed away Sunday, November 6, 2011, at his residence.He was born on May 26, 1920, in Collelongo, Italy, and came to the United States in 1927. As a teenager, he was the first foreign-born president of his 7th, sophomore, junior, and senior classes at Morgantown High School, graduating with honors in 1939. He was a fierce debater and belonged to the debating club. He wrote a political column for the Red and Blue Journal, the high school newspaper. He was a person of many talents. He taught chemical warfare while stationed in Hartford, CT with the 366th Searchlight Battalion, during World War II. His outfit soon found itself serving as unattached combat engineers under General George Patton in the Ardennes Forest in the European theater in the winter of 1944/1945, receiving three battle stars. He received his AB degree from WVU, and immediately went into business. He dreamed of the future development of Rt. 119. In due time he acquired control of 19 acres of land with 16 hundred front feet along what is now known as the Mileground.He was instrumental in encouraging the building of the Rt. 705 by-pass. To that end he gathered the signatures of 800 petitioners, and continued writing a barrage of articles for additional support. He continued his journalistic endeavors from high school until the last week of his life with one of many letters to the editor in the Dominion Post. He was a charter member of the Morgantown Cable Company and a charter member of the Pines Country Club. He and his late wife, Glenda, designed a state of the art drive-in eatery on the Mileground, known as the Carousel, with a central core of steel, a fulcrum, reaching 10 feet underground, supporting an 80 foot span, housing the walls of the business and projecting in a circle 25 feet beyond to give cover to customers, like a giant mushroom.His greatest pride came in a mini-novel that he wrote, âSudden Death at Forty Below,â the story of a seismologist and his family who had gone to the Arctic to study the ice glaciers, and the exciting adventure that follows. He was the author of a three-act play, âHis Fatherâs Son,â and a short book of poems, âMarvels in Poetry.âIn the late 70âs, under the ownership of Steve Callen, he became the CEO and Executive Director of the West Virginia Career Schools, scattered all through West Virginia, and now known as Junior Colleges. In his later years he worked for J and J Homes until the age of 86. His life is a lesson in hard work, sacrifice, and integrity.He leaves behind a son, Michael, daughter-in-law, Holly, and grandsons, Christopher and Tyler who had the unique opportunity to be impacted by a one of a kind human being. He is also survived by a sister, Gloria DePond. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Glenda, on May 9, 2004, his brothers, Marcel, Joe, and Jess Williams. Friends will be received at Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce St., Morgantown, from 4-7pm on Friday, November 11, and again from 10-11am on Saturday, November 12. A funeral service will be held in the funeral home at 11am. Interment will follow at Lawnwood Cemetery.