NANTICOKE -- Eric Williams' parents say they're still in shock.
They say they always worried about him on the job. But never expected something so horrible to happen . In the line of duty. Especially as a prison guard.
""You know the thing every parent fears is some kind of knock on the door in the middle of the night. It happened, " Said donald williams, father of correctional officer eric williams, who was killed on Tuesday."
Donald Williams' biggest fear became a reality when three men from the federal prison near Waymart visited his home in Nanticoke to tell him his son Eric had been killed.
Williams said: "They didn't go into too many details. I know he was attacked by a prisoner, which I'm trying to set that aside right now and my feelings about that."
Now Donald, his wife Jean, and their other three children are reflecting on memories of happier times, recalling Eric's days as a soccer player at Greater Nanticoke Area High School and times spent hunting and fishing together.
"He always came to see us,” said Jean Williams, Eric’s mother. “He was always in good spirits. He liked his job. Gonna miss that visit."
Williams grew up in his parents' home here in Nanticoke.
He studied Criminal Justice at King's College and graduated from the Lackawanna College Police Academy.
He was an officer in Jefferson Township before becoming a prison guard in Wayne County.
It was a field of work his parents worried about.
"You have that constant nagging awareness,” Donald Williams said. “But then again these things are not common. First time it happened up there, and it had to happen to him."
His parents said that eric had recently bought a house at Lily Lake in Wapwallopen and had been renovating it.
Dates for the viewing and funeral haven't been set. But the family says it will be in Nanticoke.