By Pat and Bonnie Culverhouse

From the mischievous little boy who sat under Mrs. Creighton’s piano bench in kindergarten to mayor of a growing town and president of the state’s association of mayors, Jimmy Williams was an inspiration to many.

Jimmy was a family man with a beautiful wife, three children and an almost endless parade of grandchildren that he loved with all his heart.

One of his proudest achievements was as second baseman on the 1972 Minden High School championship team, a team which his brother Butch coached. In May 2022, the team held a reunion and compared stories of those “good ol’ days.” 

After graduation and a stint at Louisiana Tech University, Williams returned to Minden and helped his father and brother make Minden Athletic Supply a successful business. But his passion was Sibley.

Williams’ political career began as a Sibley alderman in 2005. After serving one term, Jimmy ran for mayor and was elected in 2009. He was never challenged for the seat.

As mayor, he was a straight shooter who made solid decisions for projects that benefited the townspeople. Under his leadership, Sibley is one of the few towns in Louisiana that has grown in population. He procured water improvement grants, expanded the town limits and kick-started a new, town-owned subdivision.

“He just wanted to see Sibley grow,” said his neighbor, alderman and close personal friend Robert Smart. “He loved this town.”

Williams was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma five years ago. During the time he was receiving treatments, he was elected president of the Louisiana Municipal Association, a very high honor which he took seriously. 

Because of Covid, Jimmy served as LMA president from 2019 to 2020. When he wasn’t traveling to Little Rock, Ark. for treatments and tests, he was going to Baton Rouge for meetings. During his term as president of the LMA, he visited Washington D.C. to plead the case of Louisiana’s cities and towns with the state’s Congressional delegation.

And once he got his foot in the door, the politicians listened.

“There wasn’t a Senator or Representative from Louisiana, whether state or national, who wouldn’t return a phone call from Jimmy,” a close friend remembered. “It’s amazing how well this mayor of a small town was respected across the state. He will be missed.”

 The light over Sibley may seem a little dimmer without him, but it will still be bright in memory of the man who was passionate about his town.