Charles "Chuck" Williamsthe founder of the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy, a think tank at the UCLA School of Lawpassed away April 11.
Williams Institute Executive Director Brad Sears announced the founder's passing in an open letter that Windy City Times received.
According to Sears, Williams "was at home and at peace with his partner, Stu Walter, by his side. In the coming weeks and months, we will have opportunities to celebrate Chuck and remember his generosity and the incredible impact he had on our world. A memorial service is being planned for June and details will be announced in the coming weeks."
Williams and Walter met on California's Lake Nacimiento in 1967. During that time, "two years before Stonewall, every state except Illinois had sodomy laws, and gay men were regularly entrapped by the LAPD and sent for conversion therapy in state hospitals," Sears noted. In the 1970s, the couple hosted one of the very first fundraisers for an LGBTQ+ political candidate.
Williams gave more than $20 million to create and support the institute, which is dedicated to conducting research on sexual orientation and gender identity law as well as public policy.
Andrew Davis