Grace Mildred Williams

Grace Mildred Williams transitioned peacefully on February 27, 2021, in Generations at the Regency Rehabilitation Center in Niles, IL.  She was born 98 1/2 years ago in Gainesville, GA. on July 13, 1922, the fourth child of six of Adam and Jeanette Bryant.  All, but her youngest sister, preceded her in death.

Mildred attended St. John's Baptist Church and Fair Street elementary and high school as a child.  At the age of 14, she survived the tornado of 1936 that devastated most of the business district of Gainesville and killed over 200 people.  Mildred worked as a teenager in various jobs including an elevator operator at Dixie Hunt Hotel.  She learned to sew early in life and made most of her own clothes. She graduated from Savannah State College where she majored in home economics in 1943.  She worked in Connecticut and Rhode Island after college.

Mildred moved to Chicago with her sisters, Betty and Kaye, in 1945 where she met and married James Ted Williams. They had two children and moved to Gary, Indiana to raise their family:  James Reginald (Ernesta) Williams, MD and Penelope Denise "Penny" Williams (Lee) Warren, her grandchildren, Lisa Johnson and Philip (Alma) Williams have their own families (David, Michael, and Christian Johnson) and (Aaron Williams).

In the early 1980's after Mildred's husband's death, her sister, Betty, moved to Gary, IN. where she lived with Mildred for the next 30 years.  

Mildred has five siblings: three older sisters and a younger brother who preceded her in death ( Guyrie Swan, Kathleen Coleman(Heywood), who had seven children(Gracie, Kaye, Kenny- deceased, Vincent, Eric, Tony and Claudette), Elizabeth Holmes (Bertran- deceased), and Andrew Jackson Bryant (Mae, deceased).  Mildred is survived by her youngest sister, Jeanette Bell (Harris) who had two children, (Harris, Jr.- deceased and Edna Jean), her step-son, Ronald J. Morris (Shirley) and their two sons, Ronald M. "Ronnie" (daughter, Kyler) and Quintin (fiance' Adiam)  She is also survived by numerous great-nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please send all gifts or donations to Sojourner Truth House in memory of Grace Mildred Williams.

Visitation Tuesday, March 9, 2021, 11:00 a.m.- 12:00 noon with Funeral Services from 12:00 noon- 1:00 p.m. from Ridgelawn Funeral Home 4201 West Ridge Road Gary, Indiana. 46408.  Due to covid restrictions, only 50 people will be in attendance.  Masks and social distancing will be enforced. 

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