Marie C. Williams

Marie Williams, 99, passed away peacefully into her eternal life on March 27, 2019 at her residence at Life Care Center of Jacksonville. She was born on June 29, 1919 in Savannah, GA to Elmer and Lucille Crouch. She was the oldest of three sisters. She was preceded in death by her husband of 47 years, Orville Williams and her sister Beverly Beckett.

She graduated from junior high school, in Foley, FL as Salutatorian of her class and from high school, in Taylor County as Valedictorian. She also won the Balfour Medal of Honor given to the person most likely to succeed. Starting in elementary school, she took speech lessons so there were many readings, plays, and recitals given.

After high school she went to FSU – in those days it was called Florida State College for Women. Being a speech major, there was a lot of activity there, too. Besides the extracurricular activities, she was in the college glee club until she was forced to give that up because of the extra load of speech responsibilities.

After she graduated from college, she taught high school for two years and then World War II broke out. She enlisted in the Navy and was sent to Cedar Falls, IA to Yeoman school, then on to Washington DC to the Bureau of Navy Personnel. She stayed there until the war was over; then worked at the Naval Air Station, in Jacksonville where she met Orville. They were married April 16, 1947. They went from coast to coast, to Trinidad, British West Indies and to Japan. While in Japan she became a Red Cross Volunteer and has been credited with over 39 years of service.

Survivors include 3 children, Wes (Lorie) Williams, Lynn ( James) Walker, and Cliff (Kay) Williams; sister, Betty Lou Hendry; Brother-in-law, Ralph (JoAnn) Williams; 2 sister-in-law’s, Ruth Hacker and Mary Williams; 9 grandchildren, 8 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great grandchildren, a number of nieces and nephews, the Walker family with special thanks to Sally Passmore and many treasured friends.

Marie’s family wishes to give special thanks to Life Care Center of Jacksonville and all of the wonderful staff who have been part of her care and who treated her with love and respect during the 13 years she lived there. The kindness, compassion, reassurances and knowing they were there to help in any way possible, made the last weeks of her life easier to get through for her family. Their visits to her with hugs and kisses touched our hearts. We wish to also thank all the staff of Community Hospice who contributed to her care and kept a close monitor on her.

As we celebrate her life and the miracle it was, she will always be remembered as a strong, determined woman, full of life and known for her beautiful smile and quick wit. We were blessed to have her in our lives.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1:00 pm on Wednesday April 3, 2019, in St. Joseph’s Historic Church, 4124 Loretto Road, Jacksonville, FL 32223 with a Visitation one hour prior to Mass. Interment will follow at St. Joseph’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donating time and talent to a church, school, homeless shelters and local food pantries like the Mandarin Food Bank, 11730 Old St. Augustine Road, Jacksonville, FL 32258.