WILLIAMS--Claude Kress. Claude (C.K.), died peacefully at home at age 88 on September 7, 2011, in Montecito, California. Born in New York City on April 9, 1923, he was a graduate of St. Bernard's School, St. Paul's School and Princeton '45. C.K. served for three years in the U.S. Army during WWII and later as a 2nd Lt. during the Korean War. In 1948 he moved to Houston Texas and founded the Williams Brothers Construction Co. When he retired in l985, it was the seventh largest highway construction company in the country. In addition to running a successful business, C.K. enjoyed a flourishing career as an artist with many sell-out one-man shows and a large group of collectors. His paintings reflect his exuberance for life as well as a skilled technique developed over many years of experimentation. C.K. is survived by his wife of 22 years, Mary Elting Church Williams, a son, Claude Kress Williams, Jr., a daughter Cynthia Williams Collins, a son-in-law, Atwood Collins III, two grandchildren, Atwood Porter Collins and Dwight Mallory Collins and three great-grandchildren. The burial service in New Paltz, New York, will be private.