Pittsfield man killed in motorcycle crash

PITTSFIELD – Pittsfield residents and members of Maine’s educational communities are mourning the loss of Dr. Peter Williams, 63, of Pittsfield.

Williams was killed Saturday afternoon in a motorcycle crash in New Hampshire during an annual trip with his brother.

Williams’ motorcycle, which was headed east on the Kancamagus Highway near a scenic turnout, crossed the centerline on a sharp curve and collided with a van. One passenger in the van suffered minor injuries.

The accident happened in the White Mountain National Forest near the Hancock overlook.

Williams was a mathematics and statistics professor at the University of Maine at Farmington, having retired this past spring. He and his wife, Rosalie Williams, formerly a teacher and administrator at Maine Central Institute for 25 years, had recently returned from a five-month cross-country excursion during which they toured the entire country together in a travel camper.

The Williamses had served in the Peace Corps in West Africa in the 1960s. The couple also spent four months in 1999 teaching at the Beijing Polytechnical University in China.

Williams was a member of the MCI board of trustees from 1995 to 2003 and had often filled in academically when MCI’s math staff was short.

“He certainly taught me a lot,” said MCI trustee President Michael Hodgins on Sunday. “He was a valued leader at MCI, a great statesman and a real gentleman. He was so level-headed and a great thinker.” Hodgins said Williams left the board of trustees more than a year ago but that he was often turned to for advice. “He was a top-flight professional,” said Hodgins.

In 1998, Williams visited South Africa as a Fulbright specialist, researching approaches to training South African elementary teachers in math and science.

Carolyn Smith at MCI said Sunday, “Peter was a magnificent man. He was very jovial, very intelligent.”

Debra Billings, a Pittsfield councilor and also a member of the MCI community, described Williams as “a wonder of a man.”

He had also served his community in the past as a member of the town’s Personnel Appeals Board.