Catherine Williams was the first black probation officer in Hennepin County and a community leader whom politicians sought out for advice.
Williams, 79, died May 29 of pancreatic cancer in her Minneapolis home. She was active in DFL politics and, as education cochair for the area NAACP chapter, criticized the Minneapolis school board at its 1998 meetings for the lack of progress by students of color.
"She was a pioneer within Hennepin County as the first African-American probation officer," said County Board Commissioner Peter McLaughlin. "She provided leadership, was a role model, and provided ongoing support for other African-American workers. ... She was a mentor for a lot of people, and it wasn't easy back in those days."
After getting a social work degree, Williams started with the county in 1957, then worked a few years at St. Peter's State Hospital as a social worker, before returning to Hennepin, said her sister Pearline Crawford. She said Williams was chosen for a probation officer exchange program with England in 1961. "She was a very caring person," Crawford said.
"She liked to work with youth."
Williams worked mostly in juvenile probation, where she became a supervisor and retired in 1996, county records show. When Paula Williams Haywood joined the probation unit as a young black woman in 1992, Williams helped sharpen Haywood's writing and speaking when she presented cases to juvenile judges. She recalled Williams borrowing a courtroom for a practice session.
"She pretended to be a judge and sat in the judge's chair and I practiced my presentation," Haywood said. "She expected excellence from us. If we were rusty, she would have us continue to practice." Today Haywood is a regional supervisor in the county's Human Services Department.
Two years ago, City Council Member Elizabeth Glidden gave Williams an Eighth Ward community leader award "to recognize her history of being an involved community member on many levels. ... She was a very elegant woman, someone you listened to when she spoke," Glidden said. When Glidden first ran for office in 2005, she said, Williams was on everybody's list of important leaders to see in south Minneapolis.
Williams attended precinct caucuses and was a delegate to the DFL state central committee for years, Glidden said. She was also an election judge and after she retired, McLaughlin said, he appointed her to the County Board of Appeal and Equalization to hear property tax appeals.
"She was a pillar in the county and the community. She was one of the people that the neighborhood relied on," McLaughlin said.
"Young people were important to her and giving young people an opportunity, and making sure institutions responsible for that were doing their job."
In addition to Crawford, Williams is survived by another sister, Annie Hamilton, of Washington, D.C.; her brother, Samuel Woodard Jr. of Minneapolis, and three grandchildren. Services have been held.
Jim Adams • 612-673-7658
