Richard James Williard (July 25, 1911 – September 23, 2006) was an American prison administrator. He was born to Samuel A. Williard and Adah Nordlund in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, 1911. Williard began work for the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

around 1938. During the course of his career, he served as Captain of the Guards at both

McNeil Island McNeil Island is an island in the northwest United States in south Puget Sound, located southwest of Tacoma, Washington. With a land area of , it lies just north of Anderson Island; Fox Island is to the north, across Carr Inlet, and to the ...

and Atlanta Penitentiaries, as well as Associate Warden at the

Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island The Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island (FCI Terminal Island) is a low-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Los Angeles, California. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United Sta ...

. He was the last Associate Warden of

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (, ''"the gannet"'') or The Rock was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, off the coast of San Francisco, California, United States, the site of a ...

under Olin G. Blackwell, replacing Arthur M. Dollison in December, 1962 and staying until the institution closed on March 21, 1963. Following the closure of the penitentiary, he had served as a caretaker of the island. While a caretaker, he had dealt with a brief invasion of Sioux Indians in March 1964. In October 1964, Williard took a position as Warden of the

Oregon State Correctional Institution Oregon State Correctional Institution (OSCI) is a medium security prison located in Salem, Oregon, United States and is operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections. Established by an act of the Oregon State Legislature in 1955, the prison op ...

, a position he held until he resigned in 1967. He died September 23, 2006, in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Bay ...

References

American prison wardens American prison officials Wardens of Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary People from Oakland, California 1911 births 2006 deaths {{US-law-enforcement-bio-stub