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In memory of
Dr. Barbara Ruth Williams
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Barbara's obituary
She was born in 1933 in Tyler, Texas where she grew up the only child of Ewell and Francis Williams. She earned her BA in Sociology at Austin College and then her PhD in Sociology at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
She taught Sociology at St. Lawrence University and Vassar College before joining the Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington DC in 1967 as part of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society program. In early 1971, she joined the RAND Corporation as a social policy researcher where she would spend the remainder of her career. Over the next 22 years, Dr. Williams left a trail blazing legacy as the first woman program director when she was appointed head of the Criminal Justice Program and then the first woman head of a research department when she became the Head of the Behavioral Sciences Department. In 1989 she became the first female Vice-President, and retired in 1993 as a Special Advisor to the President of RAND.. RAND recently celebrated Barbara as one of their "Notable RANDswomen" as part of a Women's History Month staff event.
She married Harold Guthrie, a fellow researcher and economist, in 1974. They both shared an interest in policy research (she at RAND and he at the Urban Institute) as well as traveling the world, socializing, cooking together, and visiting family. Harold passed away in 1996 and Barbara continued to be active with friends and in her church.
She is survived by her step-sons, Paul Guthrie and Jim Guthrie, 4 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren.
She will be interred next to her husband in the columbarium at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on K Street in Washington DC where she was an active and devoted parishioner for many years. No formal service is planned but condolences and memories can be shared at https://everloved.com/life-of…. Donations in Barbara’s name may be made to St. Paul’s at http://www.saintpaulskstreet.….
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Created with love by
Betsy Guthrie (Barbara's daughter-in-law) and
Becca Piastrelli (Barbara's granddaughter).
