Sacramento Bee Logo

Cathie Anderson: Co-founder of Roseville architecture firm retires | The Sacramento Bee

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • SacBee Rewards
    • About Us
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Apps
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube
    • News in Education (NIE)
  • Newsletters

    • Sacramento Region
    • Arena
    • City Beat
    • Crime
    • Local Govt Salary Database
    • The Homeless
    • Marcos Bretón
    • Transportation
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health & Medicine
    • Traffic Conditions
    • Weather
    • Communities
    • Elk Grove
    • Folsom/El Dorado
    • Roseville/Placer
    • Yolo
    • Sports
    • Kings
    • NBA News
    • 49ers
    • Giants
    • Oakland A's
    • High School Sports
    • Joe Davidson
    • More Sports
    • Raiders
    • NFL News
    • MLB News
    • River Cats
    • Soccer
    • Colleges
    • Golf
    • Autos Racing
    • Politics
    • Capitol Alert
    • State Workers
    • The California Influencer Series
    • Local Elections
    • PoliGRAPH
    • State Worker Salary Database
    • Legislative Gifts
    • Local Elections
    • California Elections
    • Election Endorsements
    • Election 2018
    • Voter Guide
    • Investigations
    • Data Tracker
    • Public Eye
    • Afghan Refugees
    • Nursing Homes
    • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Election Endorsements
    • Viewpoints
    • Influencers Opinion
    • California Forum
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Submit a Letter
    • Jack Ohman
    • Editorial Board
    • Entertainment & Life
    • Arts & Theater
    • Books
    • Home & Garden
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Outdoors
    • Pets
    • Travel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Horoscopes
    • Comics
    • Puzzles
    • TV Listings
    • Sacbee Rewards
    • Food & Drink
    • Restaurants News & Reviews
    • Restaurant Directory
    • Cooking & Recipes
    • Beer
    • Wine
    • Appetizers Blog
    • California
    • Big Valley
    • Marijuana
    • Wildfires
    • Water & Drought
    • Lottery
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Market Summary
    • Cathie Anderson
    • Nation & World
    • National
    • World
    • Technology
    • Family
    • Celebrities
    • TV news
    • Weird News
    • Video Break
    • News Obituaries
    • Death Notices
    • FAQ
    • ObitMessenger
    • In Memoriam

    • The Sacramento Bee Store
    • Golf Card
    • Farm to Fork Dining Card
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Classifieds
  • Legal Notices
  • Place an Ad
  • Advertise
  • Mobile & Apps

Cathie Anderson

Cathie Anderson

Cathie Anderson: Co-founder of Roseville architecture firm retires

Jim Williams is retiring from Williams+Paddon, the Roseville-based architecture firm he co-founded in 1981, but he won’t be stepping away from his civic involvement.

Williams currently is president of the board of the South Placer County Municipal Utility District. He also serves on the boards of organizations as diverse as the Placer Community Foundation and the Northern California World Trade Center. In the past, Williams has been a Placer County supervisor, board chairman of the influential Valley Vision think tank, and president of the Roseville Chamber of Commerce. The list can – and does – go on.

Still, as Williams approached the magic number, age 65, he wanted a bit more free time to pursue all that community work: “Retirement, that’s an odd word. I think what they say now is repurposing or redirecting.”

Bill Mueller, chief executive of Valley Vision, said he hopes Williams will continue working to make the world a better place.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

“He’s got an uncanny way of looking at the same issue as everyone else but with fresh eyes and a penetrating intellect,” Mueller said. “That’s the architect in him – seeing what others can’t see…. The business man in him brings another virtue – his ability to distill complicated topics into their essence and bottom-line it in bare language.”

Mueller recalled how Williams championed the effort to create the first-ever regional inventory of civic assets – parks, pools, art galleries, museums and the like – across six counties. It’s a list that continues to help define the quality of life here and identify areas where it can be improved, Mueller said.

At Williams+Paddon, Williams was the managing principal who kept a steady hand on the business side of things, but he also was known as the life of the luau. If the outside temperature was 80 degrees or higher and it was a Friday, Williams could be found in a Hawaiian shirt, and that was the rule for everyone at the firm.

Principal architect Terry Green recalled how the dress code once posed a challenge.

“We showed up one Friday in our Hawaiian shirts, and we get a phone call in the morning to bring our portfolio out to meet with some people who wanted to do an addition or expansion to their building,” Green said. “So, Jim and I went out there with our portfolio, and we walk into this room with guys in three-piece suits from Beverly Hills, sitting around the table.” Despite the casual attire, they got the job, Green said, but “I don’t think we’ve ever done that since then.”

Besides his civic work, Williams expects to eventually do some consulting for Williams+Paddon, continue working in his garden and enjoy time with his family. Williams and his wife, Diane Williams, built their home in Loomis on the same plot of land where his parents and grandparents lived. Their son Matthew Williams also lives on the same parcel, just across Williams Pond, in the home where his grandparents lived. Matthew and his wife are expecting their first baby.

“Next year in 2015, we’re celebrating 100 years since my family moved here to this property,” Williams said. “Long term, you really get a sense of place. You get a sense that we’re all stewards of the land, and you’re responsible for trying to carry it through to the next generation.”

Call The Bee’s Cathie Anderson, (916) 321-1193. Follow her on Twitter @CathieA_SacBee.

  Comments  

Videos

2017: Kaiser Permanente makes multimillion-dollar expansion in Roseville

New Roseville Galleria store caters to pet lovers

View More Video

Trending Stories

Gavin Newsom says California plans to sue Donald Trump over national emergency declaration

February 15, 2019 10:32 AM

‘Just please stop coming up here.’ Sierra travel can wait, officials say, as more snow moves in

February 16, 2019 03:40 PM

Home sales have dropped sharply in Sacramento. See how that’s affecting prices in your neighborhood

February 16, 2019 03:00 AM

‘Especially De’Aaron’: What Celtics star Kyrie Irving said about Kings’ De’Aaron Fox

February 16, 2019 03:17 PM

One dead in Tahoe City shooting, Placer County Sheriff’s Office says

February 16, 2019 05:58 PM

Read Next

Cathie Anderson

Why Kaiser is investing millions to expand Roseville outpatient clinic

By Cathie Anderson

canderson@sacbee.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

July 10, 2017 05:45 PM

Kaiser Permanente breaks ground on a major expansion of its Roseville outpatient clinic.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The Sacramento Bee

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE CATHIE ANDERSON

Need a massage in an hour? This national service is coming to Sacramento area homes

Cathie Anderson

Need a massage in an hour? This national service is coming to Sacramento area homes

June 19, 2017 11:17 AM
How this man landed, kept Sacramento’s biggest music festival

Cathie Anderson

How this man landed, kept Sacramento’s biggest music festival

June 11, 2017 04:00 AM
Gentlemen, start your cleavers: 2 from Sacramento to vie in World Butchers’ Challenge

Cathie Anderson

Gentlemen, start your cleavers: 2 from Sacramento to vie in World Butchers’ Challenge

June 09, 2017 11:35 AM
Sacramento restaurant industry veteran follows nose into perfuming

Cathie Anderson

Sacramento restaurant industry veteran follows nose into perfuming

June 09, 2017 04:00 AM
Designer still can’t sew, but her little black dress is now being sold

Cathie Anderson

Designer still can’t sew, but her little black dress is now being sold

June 06, 2017 04:00 AM

Cathie Anderson

Taka’s Sushi to close in Fair Oaks, but owner is updating his Sacramento restaurant

June 02, 2017 11:31 AM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

The Sacramento Bee App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Photo Store
Advertising
  • Place a Classified Ad
  • Place a Legal Notice
  • Place a Digital Ad
  • Place a Newspaper Ad
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Corrections Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story