Joe Williams, Jr., who was PR chief for Pinnacle Airlines, died Aug. 7 during a business trip to Minneapolis. He would have been 58 the next day.

The Commercial Appeal of Memphis called Williams the “face of the airline,” which has been rebranded as Endeavor Air.

Pinnacle, which is now part of Delta, struggled through a bankruptcy process following a unsuccessful effort to merge with Mesaba and Colgan airlines.

Delta provided the financing that allowed Pinnacle to emerge from Chapter 11 in May and then shifted the renamed career’s headquarters from Memphis to Minneapolis.

Williams was handling Endeavor’s charitable donations to the Memphis area.

Phil Reed, who was VP-resource planning and analysis at Pinnacle, told the paper that Williams during Chapter 11 “was at the forefront of telling our employees and the public” about the proceedings.

Prior to Pinnacle, Williams was a producer at WHBQ-TV in Memphis and spokesperson for Time Warner Cable.

Williams is survived by his wife, Kathy, and daughter, DeeAnn.

A memorial service is slated for Williams on Aug. 12 at the Second Presbyterian Church on  4055 Poplar at 1 p.m.

The family has asked that donations in Williams’ honor should go to the Fire Museum of Memphis.