10 May 2026 501 Hometown Hall of Famers: Nancy Williams
By David Grimes
Nancy Turner Williams grew up like a lot of kids in Arkansas, shooting BB guns, but she ended up becoming a world champion trap shooter.
She was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) in 2005 as part of the 47th class, along with Scott Hastings, Cortez Kennedy, Bud Brooks, J.P. Lovelady, Mickey O’Quinn, Hal Smith, Maurice Carthon, Carl Sawatski, Terri Conder Johnson, Scottie Pippen, and Doyne Williams, MD, her husband.
Born and raised in Mena (Polk County), Nancy spent a lot of time outdoors, shooting BB guns and .22 rifles. She graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in 1976 with a degree in nursing and biology, then earned a master’s degree in nursing from UAMS in 1978. She worked as a registered nurse, registered nurse practitioner, and clinical nurse specialist for more than 20 years in cardiovascular surgery.
In 1984, she married Doyne, who was born in New Orleans, but his family moved to Arkansas. He went on to graduate from Hendrix College and then UAMS, becoming a cardiovascular surgeon.
He won the Arkansas State Trapshooting championship in 1965 but was unable to defend his title because he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966 and deployed to Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service for his surgical skills during the war. He returned to Arkansas in the late 1960s, joining the surgical staff at UAMS in 1970.
In 1984, Nancy and Doyne were married and made their home in Little Rock. Doyne’s hobby was trapshooting, and that became Nancy’s hobby too. However, it turned out to be more than just a hobby, as both Nancy and Doyne were pretty good at it. In fact, they were very good at it.
While they were still working, their competitions were mostly limited to Arkansas. When they retired, they were able to travel the national circuit, competing in multiple states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, Nebraska and Mississippi. They became ranked among the top trap shooters in the country.
at the Great Lakes Grand American
Over the course of 30 years, Doyne and Nancy won more than 1,000 trophies at individual club shoots. At the prestigious Grand World Trapshooting Championships, a grueling 14-day event held each year in August, Doyne won 29 shooting titles and tied on four other occasions, while Nancy won eight trophies and tied for three more.
They were named to the prestigious Amateur Trapshooting Association’s All-American Team numerous times, with Nancy having been honored 13 times. Throughout her three-decade career, she was considered the top female shooter in Arkansas until her retirement in 2013. She earned a spot on the Arkansas State Trapshooting Federation State Trapshooting Team 21 times.
Nancy became a member of the Arkansas Trapshooting Hall of Fame in 1991, while Doyne was inducted in 1995. They were inducted together into the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2014.
Nancy joined the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) board of directors in 2002. I joined a year later, and over the past quarter century, she has become a friend.
During her time on the board, she has gone far above and beyond in service to the ASHOF. She is the longtime secretary for the board’s Executive Committee, filing meticulous notes and minutes and keeping the bylaws in order. She has filled the role of volunteer office manager for many years, helping out whenever and wherever needed.
The ASHOF hosts two major events each year: the induction banquet in the spring and a celebrity golf tournament in the summer. It takes a lot of volunteers to pull these off, and Nancy is at the forefront of both.
One of the highlights at the annual induction banquet is the souvenir banquet program that Nancy puts together. It is almost 100 pages of inductee profiles, pictures, congratulatory ads and ASHOF history, and it would not be possible without her efforts.
In addition to time, Nancy and Doyne have been generous in their financial support of the ASHOF, donating to both the operating and endowment funds. Each year, the ASHOF awards 10 scholarships in the amount of $1,000 each to graduating Arkansas high school seniors who will attend Arkansas colleges. In appreciation of their service and commitment over the years, the ASHOF has named one of the scholarships in honor of Doyne, who passed away in 2025, and another in honor of Nancy.
