News Detail (Heads & Faculty)

1947-51: Richard Pardee Williams, Jr. 1904

"Well-equipped … by temperament, judgment and experience, Mr. Williams has the additional quality of a keen sense of humor and a picturesqueness of speech that is its own copyright against imitation. The dining room, for instance, is a good place to be in, but it’s better still when you can hear the joyous and contagious laughter of Mr. Williams above the noise – and you can!" - “EHS News” Spring 1948
With the retirement of Flick Hoxton in 1947, the Board of Trustees did not have to look far to find his successor. Educated at EHS from 1901-04, Richard Pardee Williams, Cap’n Dick, returned to the School in 1908 to teach Greek and Latin after completing his education at the University of Virginia. He was known to express his dry wit in any of his three languages. Because of his devotion to the School, Mr. Williams was a natural choice to lead EHS and follow the course laid by his predecessor.

As Principal, Mr. Williams appreciated his students’ desire for greater self-governance, extending “sympathetic recognition and judicious guidance.” Mr. Williams was admired for “sponsoring a partnership between tradition and progress" and "rendered a great service to each,” wrote the EHS News in the winter of 1966

Retiring as Principal in 1951, Mr. Williams resumed his instruction of Latin and continued to teach Greek at Episcopal until his 1958 retirement. Following his tenure as Principal, Mr. Williams’ return to the classroom was seen as an act of modesty consistent with his character.
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