William E. Williams: Distinguished Service Award Recipient.

• Position: In Memoriam

William E. Williams, a former Deputy Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and a recipient of TEI's Distinguished Service Award, died on October 4. Mr. Williams joined the IRS in 1949 in Illinois and moved to the Washington area to become Deputy Commissioner in 1974. He served as acting commissioner on two occasions.

Mr. Williams's government service began in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of captain during World War II and was based in Japan during the post-war occupation. He received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University in 1948 and completed an advanced management program at Harvard University.

After more than three decades with the IRS, Mr. Williams joined the Washington-based law firm now know as Dickstein Shapiro. From 1986 to 1990, he was with the International Monetary Fund, and from 1990 to 1998, he did public relations work for H&R Block. For a period of time after leaving government service, Mr. Williams served as Editor of The Tax Executive.

For 20 years, Mr. Williams was a volunteer at Hollin Hall Senior Center in Alexandria, where he prepared tax returns for senior citizens.

As an IRS employee, he received four commissioner awards and the Alexander Hamilton Award, the Treasury Department's highest honor. He received TEI's Distinguished Award in 1983.

When he served as Deputy Commissioner, his assistant was Michael J. Murphy, who subsequently became Deputy Commissioner...