The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) extends condolences to the family of Karen Hastie Williams, distinguished attorney, public servant, humanitarian, and wife of UVI Trustee, Reverend Dr. Wesley Williams known to many as Father Wes. She passed away on July 7, in Washington D.C.
“On behalf of the UVI community, I extend my deepest sympathies to Trustee Williams, his family and the loved ones of Karen Hastie Williams,” said Dr. David Hall, UVI President. “Our collective thoughts and prayers go out to you in this time of sorrow.”
“Karen was a special friend of the University,” commented Mitchell Neaves, vice president for Institutional Advancement at UVI. “In addition to their consistent giving to the University, Karen and Father Wes would willingly serve as hosts for alumni and friend gatherings in the Washington, D.C. area, which included their personal friends who once lived in the Virgin Islands or had a close connection to the Territory. What I will remember most about Karen were her conversations with Board members and staff during our Board Meeting breaks about her family and her admiration for UVI. Father Wes, Bailey, Amanda, and Bo remain in our thoughts and prayers.”
Born in Washington, D.C., Hastie Williams was the daughter of Beryl Lockhart Hastie and William H. Hastie, Governor of the Virgin Islands from 1946 to 1949. Hastie Williams earned a bachelor’s degree from Bates College in 1966 and a master’s degree from Tufts University in 1967. After earning her Doctor of Jurisprudence from the Catholic University of America in 1973, she worked as a law clerk for Judge Spottswood W. Robinson III of the D.C. Circuit U.S Court of Appeals and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
More information is available in a news release on the Media Section of the UVI Website-www.uvi.edu/ - and from this direct link