Former appeals court judge Karen Williams dies - Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) - Karen Williams, the former chief judge of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has died at her home. She was 62.

Mark Hutto of Dukes-Harley Funeral Home said Williams died Saturday. A cause of death wasn't given.

Williams retired from the appeals court in 2009, saying she had early onset Alzheimer's disease.

Williams was nominated to the court in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush, and became the first woman ever on the 4th Circuit bench. She had been chief judge since 2007 when fellow South Carolinian William Wilkins became a senior judge.

Among the survivors is her husband, Charles H. Williams II, her four children and nine grandchildren.

A funeral service is scheduled for Monday in Orangeburg.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.