Executive Director Marion Williams, 1942-2019

Dear BAER Employees,

It is with great sadness that I have to report that Marion Williams, our Executive Director from 1995 to 2012, passed away January 6, 2019, after a long illness.
Probably more than anyone else, Marion was responsible for turning BAER into the organization it is today. Marion understood that BAER provided a unique resource to enable NASA Ames to achieve its goals, and she turned that vision into a reality. She was known for walking into people’s offices and asking, “What can we do for you?” Years after she retired, people at Ames still asked about her.
Marion was born in Novato, California and grew up as an Army kid, living all over the world, including Panama, Japan, and Germany. She attended a small college in Texas, receiving a degree in Elementary Education in 1959.
Marion came back to live in the Bay Area in the 1960’s, living in San Francisco’s Sunset District. She was my next-door neighbor in the 1970’s and 80’s, while she worked at Westaff, an employment agency.
Marion joined BAER Institute as Executive Director in 1995 as its fourth employee. She actually came up with the name for the Institute and put her heart and soul into the organization; or, as a former employee said: “Marion was that constant, positive presence.”
Marion is survived by two brothers and a sister. She will be sorely missed.

Bob Bergstrom