Katie E. Williams

Katie Elizabeth Williams passed away on Friday, May 24, 2013 at home surrounded by her family. She was the fifth of six children born to James Weldon Whitney and Martha Young Whitney on May 5, 1921 in Mobile, Alabama. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Dr. Linkwood Williams, her son, Mr. Linkwood W. Williams, and five siblings, Mrs. Lillian Dixon, Mrs. Athalie Smiley, Mrs. Bernice Miller, Miss. Hattye Whitney, and Mr. James Whitney.

Katie attended elementary and high school in the city of Mobile where she was an honor student throughout. She was a member of State Street AME Church, acting as the organist for Sunday school and the junior choir. At her high school graduation she was recognized as one of the ten most outstanding students.

After high school, Katie applied for admission and was accepted at Hampton Institute in Hampton, Virginia where she majored in business administration. She received her Bachelor’s degree in business administration in May of 1942. She briefly worked at the U.S.A.A.F. in Arlington, Virginia before accepting an offer at Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1956, she moved with her husband to Nashvillle, Tennessee, where she worked at Tennessee State University while he attended Meharry Medical School.

Katie was a member of the Memphis Chapter of The Links, Inc., Les Belle Charmont, People on Target, and The Debonair Set.

Katie leaves to cherish her memory: two sons, Galen Whitney (Greta) Williams and Mark Weldon Williams, both of Memphis, Tennessee; a daughter, Karen Williams Lee of Southgate, Michigan; a foster daughter, Jessie M. Payne of Memphis, Tennessee; four grandchildren, Porsha D’Elizabeth, Gabriel Whitney, and Noelle Grace Williams of Memphis, Tennessee, and Dennis Wayne Lee, Jr., of Southgate, Michigan; one great grandson, Jerelle Amir Hubbard of Berkley, Michigan; two nieces, Patricia Dixon (William) Pillow of Powder Springs, Georgia; Janet Dixon Bell of Mobile, Alabama; four great nephews, one great niece, three great-great nieces, other relatives and close friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the Easter Seals, The American Cancer Society, and The American Heart Association.

Acknowledgements

The family of the late Katie Elizabeth Williams would like to acknowledge, with sincere appreciation, the many kindnesses shown during her illness and demise. Your prayers, cards, calls, and other expressions of sympathy have helped to sustain us during this difficult period.

Special thanks to Mrs. Melanie Lowe-Goins, Ms. Mary Strong, and Ms. Edith Thomas for their loving care of Katie Williams during her extended illness.