Williams' art career spanned 60 years. He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 1994, 12 years after retiring from UF. He continued painting for the rest of his life.

Williams' work is part of major collections, including New York's Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum of Art. He was a Guggenheim Fellow, and he wrote the book, Notes of a Young Painter.

Born in Indianapolis, he grew up in Pennsylvania, where he discovered his talent after a family friend taught him to draw during his recovery from a childhood head injury.

In 1940, he immersed himself into the art scene in New York. He was drafted the next year into the Army and served in World War II.

After the war, he got a degree from Pennsylvania State University and began teaching art, while continuing to paint.

Williams is survived by his wife, Avonell Williams of Gainesville; a daughter and a son.

New justice takes oath, to start work immediately

TALLAHASSEE -- New Florida Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Bell took his oath of office in a quiet courtroom Tuesday, a week after being appointed and a day before he sits with his new colleagues to hear oral arguments on his first cases.

Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead administered the oath to Bell with little fanfare, witnessed by a handful of people. The traditional investiture ceremony for Bell, when the court will fill up with guests and speakers, will be organized later.

But with oral arguments scheduled for today, Bell's oath couldn't wait.

"You're going to hit the ground running," Anstead told Bell.

The chief justice said the current justices were reassured by reports about Bell that match "identically" with the court's desire to increase professionalism. Anstead defined that as "the ability of somebody to properly identify their responsibility and then to carry those out with great personal integrity."

Man charged in infant's death to return to Florida

MESA, Ariz. -- A man facing Florida murder charges in the death of his infant daughter pleaded guilty Monday to separate child abuse charges here.

Justin B. Grodin, 29, pleaded guilty in Maricopa County Superior Court to child abuse and attempted child abuse. He will be sentenced Feb. 7 and returned to Fort Myers to face murder charges for the death of his daughter, Gretchen.

The Arizona charges stem from the abuse of his son, 4-month-old James Grodin, who was hospitalized in 1998 with fractures. Grodin and his wife, Mary Grodin, both were charged, and both eventually fled Arizona.

The couple met up in Florida, where authorities say Justin Grodin grabbed Gretchen by the hair and dropped her on the floor in April 2000. A landscaper found the child's body wrapped in a blanket in a shallow grave.

Mary Grodin is serving a 15-year sentence in Gretchen's death and is expected to testify against her husband.

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From the Times state desk