An Interview with Don Williams
by Jennifer Parker
What would you like to share with the community about your life?
“I was born into a blue-collar, lower middle-class family. My dad was adopted at age three, and at age 21 he legally changed his name to his adopted family’s name, Williams. I grew up in the same room as my older brother and had a younger sister. She was 4 years younger than me and remained the baby of our family until her death a few months ago. My sister had 4 daughters who are very special to me.
Don remembers his early childhood as fun, playful. Then his dad got injured at work, had to have surgery and a long covalence. “My happy home life took a turn for the worse.”
During Don’s junior high and high school years he was a mediocre student at best, spending his energy working and playing. He became Catholic at age 16, having attended the Southern Methodist church in his younger years.
A few months before his 18th birthday, while a high school senior, Don joined the U.S. Marine Reserves. After active duty, he got a job at Lone Star Gas Company in Dallas where he met his first wife. After marriage he quit his job, started college full-time and ultimately moved to Houston, TX where he enrolled at The University of Houston, earning a BS and PhD in Psychology, with an Experimental Social Psychology focus.
“In September of 1974 I joined the faculty at Marquette University.” It was his first time in Wisconsin, and he felt immediately at home. He stayed at Marquette for 6 years and then came to UW Madison for a 4 year post-doctoral in Clinical Psychology. He moved to New Orleans and practiced as a licensed clinical psychologist. He decided to join a friend’s practice in Atlanta, GA. Then came Debra.
Don achieved more in his professional life that his foundational community would have predicted. After marrying Debra, he made a commitment to stop putting his career forward and instead follow Debra wherever her career took them. “I do it with the same sense of okay-ness that women have had to do for years.”
What brought you to Unity?
“A friend invited me to a Unity church. I wasn’t very interested in that service, but another friend who attended said I should try Unity of Atlanta, because they had a great Music Director and music. The Music Director was very good, but I was more impressed by the Associate Minister, Debra.
“I started attending classes, Sunday and Wednesday night services and hanging out with the active single group there. They were generally more knowledgeable of Unity principle. I took classes offered by Debra and talked a lot with her about Unity principles and the close parallel Cognitive Psychology, which was one of my areas of interest. Years earlier I had stopped attending churches, because they seemed to rely on magical thinking to me.”
“Unity’s commitment to practical teaching appeals to me. I also like that I can maintain my own beliefs without needing to adhere to some dogma as the right to membership. I am drawn to the idea that services provide lessons, rather than sermons. My Dad gave sermons, and I didn’t find them enlightening.”
What are your favorite activities at Unity?
“I like listening to Debra’s lessons and singing when she will. I enjoy participating in the classes, being the coffee maker, and other service opportunities. I enjoy the playful opportunities and encourage more of those.”
Is there anything you’d like to see Unity do that would make your experience even better?
Don is interested in finding better ways to communicate our strengths to the broader community. He would also like to have a better kitchen.