A mass of Christian Burial for Mark L. “Willy” Williams, 73, of Parishville, will be held at 10:00am on Friday, April 14, 2023 at St. Mary’s Church in Potsdam with Rev. Shane Lynch officiating. A celebration of life will follow the funeral mass at the Parishville Amvets #265, 5 Catherine Street, Parishville from 1:00pm to 4:00pm on Friday, April 14th. Calling hours will be held from 3:00pm to 7:00pm on Thursday, April 13, 2023 at Garner Funeral Service in Potsdam. Mark passed away unexpectedly Thursday morning (April 6, 2023) at Rochester General Hospital.
Mark is survived by his wife of 44 years, Mary Beth, children Lewis “Lew” (Jenna) Williams of Norwood, Molly (Joseph) Andrasik of Norwood and Bridget (Camrin) Guido of Parishville, grandchildren Lexis, Kyla and Braxon Williams, Branche and Margaret Andrasik, Grady Guido, and a grandchild on the way; a brother Thomas Williams of Ogdensburg, aunts Jeanne Thompson of Watertown and Patricia Krause of Euless, TX, a close cousin Marcy (Steve) Branche Ellis of Morehead City, NC, and his mother in law Margaret “Peggy” Nagle of Baldwinsville whom he highly regarded. He is predeceased by his sister Ann.
Mark Lewis Williams was born on August 2, 1949 in Watertown, NY, a son of the late Arthur E. and Betty (Branche) Williams. He was a class of 1968 Norwood-Norfolk Central School graduate, and in July of that summer enlisted in the United States Navy where he served during the Vietnam War, he was honorably discharged in June 1974. After his separation from the military, Mark worked on the railroads in the upper Midwest, then moved to Florida where he learned and worked in the drywall trade before moving back to the North Country where he worked at the Potsdam Paper Mill and at the ARC in Norwood, where he attempted to unionize the employees.
He met Mary Beth while working at the ARC in 1977. They were married on September 9, 1978 at St. Francis of Assisi Newman Center, Potsdam NY by Reverend Bernie Kellogg. They settled in Parishville where they raised their family. In their retirement, they spent several winters in Port Charlotte, Florida with life-long friends, Wayne and Sue Labaff.
Mark started his own Drywall business and in 1991, he started working for the New York State Department of Corrections, during which time he worked at a number of facilities; Sing Sing, Fishkill, Bedford Hills (his least favorite) Cape Vincent, Gouverneur, Riverview and finally Franklin County Correctional Facility, where he enjoyed working in the infirmary and served as the EAP representative. Mark loved his job as a prison guard until his retirement in July 2014.
Mr. Williams appreciated life in many ways; Vegetable and fruit gardening, which turned into installing an orchard on his property, fly-fishing on the St. Regis River, installing drywall (Doc Roc), fishing in the ocean while speaking with people passing by, the science of locksmithing, attending and listening to opera, dancing with his bride, visiting with veterans (or anyone for that matter), feeding birds and birdwatching with his grandchildren, reading, researching anything involving World War II history, but most of all, his favorite activity was spending time with his grandchildren in any capacity.
He was an avid Montreal Canadiens hockey fan, a former member of the Amber Lodge #395 – Parishville, and a lung cancer survivor. Mr. Williams attained the rank of Senior Master Instructor, 6th Degree Black Belt in Combat Hapkido under Grand Master Robert Gray and Senior Master Thomas Morrison.
The Williams family would like to thank the staff at Canton Potsdam Hospital, especially Dr. Velmalia Matthews- Smith and Dr. Flos Brown as well as the cardio thoracic ICU staff at Rochester Regional Hospital, especially Dr. Allen Cheng whom cared for him during his brief illness. Condolences, thoughts, prayers and fond memories may be shared with the family of Mr. Mark Williams online at www.GarnerFH.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mark’s memory can be made to the Parishville Volunteer Fire Department.
