Ernest B. Williams was born on December 20, 1930, in Naponee, Nebraska. Ernest married Inas E. on December 27, 1959, and they had four children: Teresa, Ernestine, Suzanne, and Warren.
Williams was enlisted in the United States Air Force as part of the Special Weapons Project for four years. Willaims was a federal employee for the United States Department of Energy from 1955 to 1986. After working for the Department of Energy, Williams worked for Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co (REECo); Raytheon; Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier (EG&G); Bechtel; and National Security Technologies.