Lyle Williams (August 23, 1942 – November 7, 2008) was an American politician who served three terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

from 1979 to 1985.

Biography

Williams was born in

Philippi, West Virginia Philippi ('FILL-uh-pea') is a city in and the county seat of Barbour County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 2,928 at the 2020 census. In 1861, the city was the site of the Battle of Philippi, known as the "Philippi Races". Alth ...

to Dale and Frankie (Ice) Williams. He attended the public schools of

North Bloomfield, Ohio North Bloomfield is an unincorporated community in central Bloomfield Township, Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. It lies at the intersection of State Routes 45 and 87 and has a post office A post office is a public facility and a re ...

, graduating from Bloomfield High School in 1960. He served in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

from 1960 to 1968, and worked as a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

. He married Nancie Peterson in 1964 and had four children.

Political career

Williams began his political career as a member of the Bloomfield school board from 1970 to 1972, before he was elected a

Trumbull County Trumbull County is a county in the far northeast portion of U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 201,977. Its county seat is Warren, which developed industry along the Mahoning River. Trumbull County is part of the ...

Commissioner, serving from 1972 to 1976. He was elected a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the Ninety-sixth Congress in 1978, narrowly defeating incumbent Democrat

Charles J. Carney Charles Joseph Carney (April 17, 1913 – October 7, 1987) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1970 to 1979. Early life and career Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Carney attended schools in Youngstown and neighboring Campbell, Ohio. He later ...

in a heavily Democratic working class district that included the industrial cities of

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, which ...

and

Warren A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval A ...

. He was reelected in 1980, defeating state Senator

Harry Meshel Harry Meshel (June 13, 1924 – September 4, 2017) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the president of the Ohio State Senate and chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. Meshel is noted for his legislative efforts on behalf of t ...

, and in 1982 over George D. Tablack. He was defeated for reelection in 1984 by

Mahoning County Mahoning County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 228,614. Its county seat and largest city is Youngstown. The county is named for a Lenape word meaning "at the licks" or "there is a lick", refe ...

Sheriff

James Traficant James Anthony Traficant Jr. (May 8, 1941 – September 27, 2014) was an American politician who served as a Democratic, and later independent, member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio. He represented the 17th Congressiona ...

After Congress

After leaving Congress, Williams worked on the external affairs staff of the

Office of Surface Mining The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) is a branch of the United States Department of the Interior. It is the federal agency entrusted with the implementation and enforcement of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamati ...

in the

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the man ...

, beginning in 1987. He ran unsuccessfully for nomination to the One Hundred Third, One Hundred Eighth, and One Hundred Ninth Congresses.

Death

Williams died of a heart attack in

Lordstown, Ohio Lordstown is a village in southern Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,332 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. Lordstown is best known as the home of the Lordstown Assembly, a G ...

, on November 7, 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Lyle 1942 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American politicians County commissioners in Ohio Military personnel from Ohio People from Philippi, West Virginia Politicians from Warren, Ohio School board members in Ohio United States Army reservists United States Department of the Interior officials Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio