OBITUARY: Hall of Famer Kenny Williams was the face of hockey on the Southern Shore

MOBILE, N.L. — Kenny Williams, a fixture in Southern Shore hockey for decades, passed away Thursday night following a lengthy illness.

He was 69.

An honorary life member of Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador, Williams was inducted into the Hockey NL Hall of Fame in 2015.

A native of Bay Bulls, Williams received Hockey Canada’s Order of Merit (Atlantic) in 2017.

He was a driving force behind hockey on the Southern Shore, including serving as the first president of minor hockey in the area.

In the early 1990s, he played a major role in organizing the Avalon West Senior Hockey League, was that circuit’s first president and the director of the Breakers’ AWSHL entry.

Besides being a key figure behind both Southern Shore junior and senior organizations, Williams also served as chairman of provincial senior hockey, as a director on the provincial female committee and was a branch representative on Hockey Canada.

In 1986, Williams was part of the group that lobbied for the construction of the Southern Shore Arena and he was hired as manager when the facility opened in 1987.

The building was eventually renamed in his honour as the Ken Williams Southern Shore Arena.

“Words can’t express what Kenny Williams has brought to the Southern Shore with regards to that arena, and minor, junior and senior hockey. It wouldn’t be where it is today,” senior Breakers president Ian Sullivan said in advance of appreciation night for Williams in 2016.

It is with great sadness that Hockey NL announces the passing of the late Ken Williams on Thursday, March 4, 2021.

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— Hockey NL (@HkyNL) March 5, 2021