George Phillips Williams MD, 86, died on February 28, 2016, at Foxwood Springs in Raymore, MO. George was born on June 2, 1929, in Kansas City, MO, and was the oldest son of Leslie N. and Velma S. Williams. He grew up in Hickman Mills and Raytown and graduated from Ruskin High School in 1947. While a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, George met Loretta Hayes on a blind date. They married in 1953. After finishing a bachelor's degree in 1951 and the medical program at MU, he then completed an MD degree at the University of Iowa in 1956 with a specialty in family practice. George and Loretta returned to Kansas City so that George could undertake a residency at Kansas City General Hospital. He liked to recall driving out to Hickman Mills as a resident to assist victims of the Ruskin Heights tornado in 1957.

From 1957 to 1960 George served in the U.S. Army at the rank of captain. For most of that time he was a flight surgeon in the Third Armored Division in Frankfurt, Germany. His army service allowed him to combine his love of flying with his love of practicing medicine. After leaving the army George and Loretta returned to Hickman Mills where he opened a private practice of family medicine, which he maintained from 1961 to 1993 and which allowed him to touch thousands of lives in South Kansas City. He was a pioneer in the treatment of allergies in Kansas City.


After closing his practice in Hickman Mills George moved to Groesbeck, TX, where he began several years of locum tenens practice. After Texas he undertook other temporary assignments, including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. His last medical service was with the army at Ft. Leonard Wood.

George believed in the power of education and served on the board of education for Consolidated School District Number 1 for nine years in the 1960s and 1970s. Combining his love of football and medicine, he volunteered as team doctor for the Ruskin and Hickman Mills high school football teams for many years. He was president of the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians in 1984. A proud member of the Tribe of Mic-O-Say, he cherished his name White Owl. He was a 32rd degree Mason and a member of the Grandview Lodge.

Loretta and George enjoyed 62 years of marriage. He was preceded in death by his parents and his youngest brother Don Williams. He is survived by Loretta and their five children: Beth Slinkard of Central Islip, NY; Tom Williams (Shelly) of Osage Beach, MO; Carol Adams of Overland Park, KS; Laura Sienkiewicz (Paul) of Kansas City, MO; and Jim Williams of Fulton, MO. He is also survived by his brother Leslie W. Williams of Dexter, MO, and eight grandchildren: Kathryn Slinkard, Rachel Borden (Adam), Nathan Slinkard, George T. Williams IV, Piper Williams, Lauren Adams, Christine Martinez, and Travis Martinez.

George was baptized in 1940 at Hickman Mills Community Christian Church and was thereafter a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The family suggests memorial contributions to the Fellowship of John at Foxwood Springs, to Longview Chapel Christian Church, or to the Kenner Church of God.