Godfrey trustee Eldon 'Twirp' Williams remembered as 'All-American hometown boy'

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GODFREY - The Village of Godfrey has cancelled the Village of Godfrey Trustee Board meeting set for tonight because of the passing of Eldon “Twirp” Williams, a long-time Godfrey Village Trustee.

Williams, several sources say, was apparently the victim of a tragic crime that occurred on Delmar in Alton.

Village of Godfrey Mayor Mike McCormick confirmed tonight’s meeting had been cancelled. He said the only way he could describe his and other residents of Godfrey’s thoughts was “total, total shock” in regard to the tragic death of Trustee Williams.

“He was part of Godfrey for so long,” Mayor McCormick said. “We will have more to say in the coming days, but we want to collect our thoughts.”

Village of Godfrey Clerk Pam Whisler said the family has been notified about Williams’ passing, but said a cause has not yet been released, but will be forthcoming.

“Eldon started in 1957 with Godfrey Township as the justice of the peace and trustee. In 1959, he became the assessor. He retired as the township assessor in December 1997 and in 1999, he ran for village trustee until the present. He was a realtor for a long time. I believe he took that job shortly after. You couldn’t ask for a more All-American hometown boy. He was born here and loved his family, his friends and his community. He ushered on Sundays at Saints Peter and Paul Church in Alton. This (Williams’ tragic death) doesn’t make sense. We are closing village hall at 3:30 p.m. today.”

Landmark Realty in Godfrey released the following statement Tuesday afternoon: “We here at Landmark Realty Godfrey are heartbroken over the loss of our dear friend and colleague Eldon "Twirp" Williams. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jackie and all of the girls. Sad day for the Landmark Realty Godfrey team.”

Margaret Freer, one of Godfrey’s Freer Auto Body owners, was a close friend to Williams.

She said she was absolutely shocked at what had happened to Williams today.

“I think he had just listed the house yesterday,” she said of where the tragedy occurred. “He went to Godfrey Village Hall every day and was selling houses every day at 87 years old. He was apparently showing another house today when this happened. He was always a good supporter and we always fixed his car. He was there when we started Freer Auto Body and came to the meeting when we switched from special use permit to business class license. He was always one of our biggest supporters and he believed in keeping his business in Godfrey. This is just unreal; it is a scary world out there these days.”

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