Eileen Ehrhardt Williams

Eileen Williams lived a full active life of 95 years. All that she accomplished was imbued with the values of her faith and expressed daily through her devotion to her husband of more than 55 years, the loving, supportive environment she built around her family, and the excellence she demanded of herself in her professional life. Eileen passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 23, 2019.

Daughter of Carl and Marie Ehrhardt, Eileen was born on a wooded farm nestled in the verdant, rolling hills of Clayton County, Iowa within 20 miles of the Mississippi River in the northeast corner of the state. She grew up in a close-knit family that included three sisters with whom she remained life-long best friends. She played the violin at the parish church and played basketball in both high school and college. She graduated Clark College in Dubuque at the end of World War II and earned a dietetic internship in New York City.

After completing her internship, Eileen moved to Dallas, taking a position as a registered dietician at Baylor Hospital. Her interest in basketball soon drew her to games at SMU, which, in turn, led to her meeting her future husband, Calvin Williams, at a pharmacy soda fountain near campus following a Mustang game.

Eileen and Calvin were married in August 1953 in her hometown of Elkader, Iowa. Following a brief residency in San Francisco, they returned to Dallas to start their family, eventually being blessed with a son and a daughter, Michael and Mary Elizabeth (Beth). Eileen progressed in her career and assumed active roles in her children's lives and at her church Saint Pius X, serving in a variety of capacities in many organizations and activities, including the Ladies Society, Ladies Circle, Cub Scouts (she was a den mother) and Girl Scouts.

Professionally, Eileen achieved lauded success as a dietitian at Methodist Hospital and as Food Service Director at Golden Acres Nursing home and then Doctor's Hospital. She held multiple leadership positions in affiliated professional organizations both locally and nationally, including the American Dietetic Association and retired as Director of Food Service at Doctor's Hospital in March of 1994 at age 70.

Ever active, Eileen soon volunteered as a docent at the Dallas Arboretum, and in a few years was president of the volunteer committee. She served as a volunteer at the Arboretum until she could no longer drive.

Eileen was predeceased by her adoring husband of more than 55 years, Calvin; her sister Mary Mulroney and her husband Jerry of Overland Park, Kansas; Sister Jane of the Sisters of Mercy of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and brother-n-law, Gene Sandor and nephew Steve Sandor, both of Marietta, Georgia.

She is survived by her sister LaVonne Sandor of Roswell, Georgia; her son Michael Williams of Dallas; daughter Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Spicer (Michael) of Dallas; grandchildren Melissa Williams, Nathaniel Williams, Matthew Spicer, Erin Spicer, and Madeleine Spicer; nieces Mary Ann Lewellan, Ann Styles and Kathy Almond, their husbands and children; Sister-in-law Karen Boatright (David); and extended family member Kevin Pei of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Visitation will be held Thursday, February 28 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM (rosary at 7:00) at Sparkman-Crane Funeral Home located at 10501 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas. Funeral mass will be Friday March 1, 2019 at 10:00 AM at St. Pius X Catholic Church located 3030 Gus Thomasson Road, Dallas, Texas.