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2017 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 746
Celebrating the life of Roger L. Williams.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 20, 2017
Agreed to by the Senate, January 26, 2017

 

WHEREAS, Roger L. Williams, a man of faith and a devoted husband and father who made many significant contributions to the Commonwealth and performed a major role as commissioner of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, died on October 11, 2016; and

WHEREAS, Roger Williams was born in Anniston, Alabama, and was raised in Richmond; in 1975, he graduated from Washington and Lee University, and in 1980, he earned a law degree from the University of Richmond, where he was a member of the Law Review and the McNeill Law Society, whose membership comprised those students in the top 10 percent of their class; and

WHEREAS, following graduation, Roger Williams worked for Sands, Anderson, Marks & Miller PC, a firm noted for the handling of workers’ compensation cases and from 1988 until 2008 was a principal in his own firm, last called Williams & Lynch; and

WHEREAS, in 2008, Roger Williams was appointed by the Virginia General Assembly to the position of commissioner of the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, where he served as chair from 2012 to 2015, and where he continued to work until his death; and

WHEREAS, Roger Williams was recognized as a national leader in the field of workers’ compensation and was a member of the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators, where he served as president from 2014 to 2015; and

WHEREAS, Roger Williams was also a prominent member of the National Association of Workers’ Compensation Judiciary and a fellow of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers; and

WHEREAS, Roger Williams immersed himself in whatever endeavor he undertook, exhibited a passion for golf, and a love of sleight-of-hand coin, rope, and card tricks, which he performed as a magician at shelters for the homeless and other charitable venues; and

WHEREAS, Roger Williams was a pillar of the community, volunteering countless hours to benevolent organizations such as Kids’ Chance, which serves the children of workers killed on the job; and

WHEREAS, Roger Williams will be greatly missed and forever loved by his wife, Annie, and children, Lauren and Matt; and

WHEREAS, Roger Williams’ leadership at the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission positively impacted its employees and its operations and enhanced its services to injured workers, employers, and insurers; and

WHEREAS, the legacy of Roger Williams will be his continued positive impact on the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Commonwealth, and workers’ compensation systems nationwide; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Roger L. Williams, who made many valuable contributions to the Commonwealth’s workers’ compensation system and who was a leader, a man of faith, and a devoted husband and father; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Roger L. Williams as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory and appreciation for his service to the Commonwealth and its citizens.