Williams, longtime LV mattress company owner, dies

Monday, April 18, 2005 | 8:32 a.m.

On Veterans Day 2001, Bill Williams marched in the downtown Las Vegas parade, proudly carrying the banner of the Army's 27th Division, 165th Regiment, Third Battalion, Heavy Weapons Company M.

More than a half century earlier, the decorated combat infantryman and machine gunner, under that flag, participated in four strategic landings in the South Pacific, spilling his blood on the beaches of Saipan.

After the war, Williams engaged in work of a far more restful nature -- selling thousands of mattresses to Las Vegans and local resorts during 42 years as owner of Williams Mattress Co., on South Main Street, a business his family founded in 1941.

William Earl "Bill" Williams, a philanthropist for religious and health causes, died April 2 of pancreatic cancer in Robert Lee, Texas. He was 84. His family disclosed his death late last week.

There will be no local services for the Clark County resident of 72 years, who was buried in the family cemetery in Bronte, Texas.

"After the war, Bill went from construction job to construction job and just got tired of that type of life and wanted to settle down," said Mary Gafford of Las Vegas, a longtime friend.

"He felt that buying the mattress company would be a real good opportunity. He became a major wholesale dealer to local resorts. He was known for his honesty and for mentoring young people in business."

Williams' store was founded by his brother Edwin Williams. Bill Williams moved the store to 930 S. Main St., then to 1017 S. Main.

In 1985, he relocated again to its current location, 1001 S. Main. Williams sold the business in 2000, but the new owners kept the name.

He was born Feb. 19, 1921, in Kiowa County, Okla., the eighth of 15 children. Williams joined the Army in 1941 and also saw action at Okinawa. He was awarded the Purple Heart and other medals for bravery.

In Las Vegas, Williams was an early proponent of the Clark County School District's Diversified Occupation Program, through which teens went to school in the morning and worked at area businesses in the afternoon.

As a philanthropist, Williams supported the Bellview Christian Schools and Sansum Medical Research in Santa Barbara, Calif.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Frankie Fletcher Williams; a son, Larry Williams; a stepson, William Holmes; a daughter Cheryl Williams; a sister Edna McClung; and grandchildren.