James Walter Williams Jr.

James Walter Williams, Jr., 98, died peacefully on December 21, 2024, after a short illness of two months. Born April 14, 1926, to parents Rachel Mae Dees and James Walter Williams, he grew up as the youngest of 10 children in a hard-working farming family in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.

Drafted into WWII on his 18th birthday, he made the decision to enter the Navy because of their deferment for high school graduation. His parents were thrilled to have him home six more weeks, as they already had another son serving in Germany at that time. Therefore, after graduation on Friday, James left for training at Camp Wallace on Sunday.

He served on two aircraft carriers in the Pacific and was a plankholder on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Soon after his discharge in 1946, James met Ola Gaulden at the church he was attending in east Texas with his brother and sister-in-law. Their marriage of 74 years was undoubtedly a happy one. James worked most of his life in retail, ending his workplace experience at the Eckerd Warehouse on I-45 in Conroe six weeks before his 80th birthday. After that he accumulated more than 4,000 hours as a volunteer at St. Luke’s hospital in the Woodlands, most recently at Lakeside where he was much loved and always celebrated.

Over the years James and Ola were vital members of three Conroe Baptist churches and charter members of two of them. He always served as a deacon and in various other capacities.

James was blessed as a faithful husband and loving father with a family of three daughters, six grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made in honor of James to RiverPointe Baptist Church in Conroe, Texas.

A funeral service for James will be held Tuesday, December 31, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM at Cashner Funeral Home, 801 Teas Road, Conroe, TX 77303. Following the funeral service will be a graveside service from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Garden Park Cemetery, 801 Teas Rd, Conroe, TX 77303.