A fifth-generation San Franciscan, Judge Raymond D. Williamson, Jr., born in 1938, was the son of Raymond Williamson Sr., who represented San Francisco in the State Assembly for 17 years.
Judge Williamson attended St. Ignatius High School, and graduated from the University of San Francisco in 1959 and from the USF law school in 1963. He worked as a Trust Officer for Wells Fargo bank. After serving in the U.S. Army, he worked in the San Francisco City Attorney's office and was appointed a Municipal Court Judge by Gov. Ronald Reagan in 1972 and to the Superior Court in 1985, where he handled law-and-motion procedures and criminal cases.
Judge Williamson was a frequent lecturer at judicial education courses and twice was named California Trial Judge of the Year. He retired from the bench in 1998 and served as a mediator for the American Arbitration Association and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
He was devoted to both USF and St. Ignatius Preparatory and served on the St. Ignatius Board of Regents and on the USF Board of Governors and as president in 1998 and 1999. He was named USF's alumnus of the year in 2002.
Judge Williamson played baseball in college and softball for more than 40 years in a San Francisco City League and in a softball league for lawyers. He was good enough to play first base for Les Laupins Sauvages, a softball team organized by the late Ed Moose, and traveled with the team to Paris, Moscow, Hong Kong, Italy and Yankee Stadium (SFGate).
