ELMORE COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA/Gray News) – The longtime football chaplain at Auburn University died Sunday after he fell into the water near a dock on Lake Martin.
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said Rev. Chette Williams fell off a dock while attempting to get into a boat.
The accident took place around 5:45 p.m. at Kowaliga Restaurant just west of the Kowaliga Bridge in Elmore County, Alabama.
The sheriff said Williams slipped and fell into the water while getting on the boat after learning the restaurant was closed for a private event.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed early Monday that Williams’ body was recovered around 7:20 p.m.
His body was then sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy.
Williams was a former Auburn linebacker.
He was in his 26th year as his football team’s chaplain. He was also the Auburn campus director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the State Director for Urban Ministries for FCA.
Williams was named chaplain in 1999 under the then-head coach Tommy Tuberville.
Williams received a bachelor’s degree in adult education from Auburn in 1985 and a master’s of divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1993, according to his bio on the Auburn Athletics website.
He served as a co-pastor of New Song Baptist Church in Mobile from 1991 to 1993. He then went on to become the pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church in New Orleans. In 1995, he became president of IMPACT Ministries in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Authorities said an investigation into Williams’ death is ongoing.
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