USF President Rhea Law and Wayne Williams, who have been married for 39 years, met on a CB radio while Law was commuting daily from Tampa to Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport. Although she was “really taken” by his voice, Law initially refused to respond to Williams. After listening to him on the CB radio for a few weeks, she accepted his invitation to share breakfast – a granola bar and a cup of coffee – at a lookout point near the Howard Frankland Bridge.

“I parked behind him and stayed in my car,” Law recalled in an earlier interview. “He looked OK from the outside, but I didn’t open the door. I just rolled down the window. And we agreed to meet again.”

As their relationship progressed, she learned that Williams had started racing as a teenager, including at Sebring International Raceway in Florida and Daytona International Speedway, which meshed well with Law’s passion for racing. The first gift she received from him was a three-day course at Sebring, and when she got home, Law told Williams they needed a race car. Over the next year, they built one from scratch and competed in races throughout the Southeast.

As Law began her tenure as USF president, the couple continued the tradition of starting each morning with breakfast together. In recent years, they also made time to read about two chapters of the Bible each day. The two best friends have been active members of Idlewild Baptist Church since 1995, and one of the church’s pastors led the prayer at Law’s inauguration ceremony in 2023.

Williams shared his wife’s enthusiasm for USF and often attended various USF events, fundraisers and Bulls games with her. The couple’s philanthropic influence on the university spans 28 years, including a donation to name the grand staircase in the Judy Genshaft Honors College building that opened last year. At the time, Law said when she and Williams were looking for ways to show their support, they chose the staircase because it symbolized the college’s goal of helping students soar to greater heights.

They have also generously supported the USF Alumni Association, athletics, women in leadership and philanthropy, Brunch on the Bay, Stampede for Women, student success, USF Health and scholarships.

After serving in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1961, Williams earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Florida. During his professional career, he served as international marketing and sales director for GTE Lenkurt, the manufacturing arm of GTE Corp. He also served as president of US Comm-sults, a telecommunications consulting firm.

Williams was active in numerous professional and civic organizations, including the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, Community Development Corp., Telephone Pioneering Group, and Sports Car Club of America. He was also a proud member of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.

Williams died on September 19 at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife Rhea F. Law, his son Gregory Williams, his daughter Lisa Williams, his son-in-law Jason Kammerdiener, his brother Claude Williams, his grandson Ryan Williams and his granddaughter Samantha Williams.

Funeral services to honor his life will be held Saturday, September 28, at Idlewild Baptist Church, 18333 Exciting Idlewild Blvd., in Lutz. The wake is set for 10 a.m., with services beginning at 11 a.m. A livestream will be available here. A short graveside memorial service will follow at 2 p.m. at Myrtle Hill Memorial Park, 4202 E. Lake Ave., in Tampa.

A USF Foundation memorial fund has been established in Williams’ honor. The fund will benefit numerous university programs and initiatives that Williams and Law supported over the years.