Tarleton D. Williams, pioneering computer scientist and celebrated electronics engineer, has died at 94

Tarleton D. Williams, 94, of Philadelphia, retired pioneering computer scientist, first Black manager of the electronic computer division at Remington Rand Inc., celebrated project engineer for the world’s first supercomputer, information technology and computer consultant, and longtime leader in the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, died Monday, March 31, of complications from lung disease at his home in University City.

Mr. Williams worked for 37 years, beginning in 1955 as a project engineer, group manager of systems research, department manager of systems development, and international corporate director of systems quality and product assurance at what is now Unisys Corp.

In the late 1950s, he was a project engineer responsible for the electrical design of the revolutionary UNIVAC LARC supercomputer. In 1959, as a groundbreaking Black manager at Remington Rand, he oversaw the wiring of a $3.5 million computer for the Atomic Energy Commission.

Over the next four decades, he contributed early innovative research regarding thin-film computer memory, fiber optics, circuit miniaturization, and new design automation techniques. His papers and articles were printed in journals and educational publications. In 1981, his work was recognized as outstanding by the Association for Computer Machinery.

He spent five years as an IT expert at Bacfor Inc. after retiring from Unisys in 1991 and then consulted on IT and other matters for the Philadelphia Gas Commission and Gas Works, Opportunities Industrialization Center, Franklin Institute, and Philadelphia Board of Education. He fully retired in 2018.

Mr. Williams was a fellow at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, board member of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, and active with other engineering and computer organizations. He lectured and taught at conferences and seminars around the world, and to students at the University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania State, Drexel, and Howard Universities.

He was a member of then-Mayor-elect Ed Rendell’s transition team in 1991 and appointed by Rendell in 1992 to a four-year term on the Philadelphia Gas Commission.

He joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity in 1949 and earned the John Milton Lee distinguished student award from the Delta Eta chapter. He also served as polemarch and board member of the Philadelphia Alumni Chapter and won its achievement award.

In a tribute, Kappa colleagues called him “a source of inspiration to all who knew him.” His family said: “He truly lived by the Kappa Alpha Psi motto: Achievement in every field of human endeavor.”

Tarleton David Williams was born Dec. 10, 1930. He grew up in South Philadelphia, played football, ran sprints and hurdles on the track team, and graduated with honors from Central High School.

He met Rae Kelly at a party, and they married in 1954, and had daughters Karen and Tracy and a son, T. David Jr. His wife is from North Philly, and they lived in West Philly. “The way he expressed his love daily, through big and small gestures, was a beautiful testament to their relationship,” his daughter Tracy said.

In 1955, while working full-time as a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, Mr. Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in math and physics at La Salle University. He went on to complete graduate work in math and physics at La Salle, electrical engineering at Penn State, and engineering and financial management at Penn. He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship program in robotics and artificial intelligence at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mr. Williams was a longtime fan of the Penn Relays, and he and some friends made it back to their favorite deli and same seats at Franklin Field every April for years. He was proficient at home carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, and auto repair. A common refrain among his family, they said, was “Daddy can fix it.”

He spoke French and German, was an avid reader, and served on the President’s Advisory Council at La Salle. He and his wife traveled to nearly every continent.

He enjoyed listening to and singing along with Nat King Cole. Friends and family called him Totty. ”Dad was the unmoving rock of the family,” said his daughter-in-law, Lisa.

“He was intense but playful, a disciplinarian but not heavy-handed,” his son said. “He knew so many people and had such a strong work ethic. He believed in the value of connection.”

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Williams is survived by three grandchildren and other relatives. Three brothers and two sisters died earlier.

Services and a celebration of his life were held April 8.

Donations in his name may be made to the American Lung Association, Box 756, Osceola, Wisc. 54020.