In Praise Of Gene Williams, A Good Hockey Man Whose Legacy Lives On In Rinks All Over Anchorage

Here's the deal: If you've run your skates across a sheet of ice in Anchorage, from youth leagues to the high-school circuit to adult rec leagues, you owe belated thanks to Gene Williams.

Williams, once honored by the Alaska State Legislature as the "Grandfather of Adult Hockey in Alaska,'' was that and more. He died Sunday at 83, but his legacy lives on all around this town.

It's hard not to think of Gene as an irresistible force once you realize that, from the time he hit town with his wife and their family in 1955 --Gene grew up in New York, played college football and lacrosse, was a World War II veteran and became a lawyer and judge -- he helped create and develop not just rec hockey, but high school hockey and high school football.

"He started almost all of this adult hockey, learn-to-skate (classes), beginner's hockey, the rec league,'' said Frank Nosek, who was kind enough to fill me in on Gene's remarkable influence.

Think about this: That "Scotty Gomez'' rink at Tikishla Park, off of East 20th in Airport Heights, that underwent renovation recently and is named for the best-known hockey player from Alaska, who grew up on that sheet? Gene helped put in the original rink there in the early 1960s, getting a hockey pal to level the area, installing the rink with his pals, one of whom was the grandfather of NHL goaltender Ty Conklin of Anchorage.

A bunch of Gene's buddies got together last week to place a sign on the boards of that rink that reads: "Gene Williams, Rink Creator.''

Gene was also instrumental in developing the Anchorage Senior League, which was a prime source of entertainment long before the Seawolves and Aces came to be, and the Old Timers league.

Gene's obituary ran in Wednesday's Daily News, and it was a reminder that he was hockey to the core. "In lieu of flowers,'' the obit read, "donations may be made on his behalf to the American Heart Association or UAA Hockey.''

A remembrace of Gene is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel, where friends will swap stories and reminisce about a man worth remembering. The event is open to the public -- everyone's welcome.

For more information on Sunday's event, you can call Frank Nosek, preferably at 272-2966 (home), but otherwise at 274-2602 (office).

In the meantime, hold a good thought for Gene and his family, and remember it the next time you glide across a sheet of ice in Anchorage.