Betty Hamilton Williams' Obituary
Betty Hamilton Williams passed away suddenly, but peacefully in her home on December 5, 2014 at the age of 85. She was born on June 10, 1929 in Knoxville, TN, to Horace L. Hamilton, Sr. and Eula (Blanche) Quillen Hamilton. In addition to being preceded in death by her parents, she lost her husband of nearly 60 years, Richard (Dick) Morgan Williams, at age 85, two years ago. Her prayer was answered when she also made it to the same age as Dick, and then she was ready to be with Jesus. She also was very anxious to see her mother, again, whom she had reminisced about frequently in recent years, and died when she was only 15 years old. She grew up in Knoxville, TN, where she attended Knox High School and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1951. UT is where she met Dick in sociology class and they were married on December 20, 1952. She leaves her children, Richard H. Williams (Nancy), Cynthia B. Williams(David), David M. Williams, and Jennifer W. Rogan(Mark), six grandchildren, Ross Hamilton Williams, Caroline Williams Zurhellen(Cody) of Knoxville, TN, Jeffrey Morgan Williams, John Galyon Williams, Aaron Thomas Rogan, and Sean Allen Rogan; and two great-grandchildren Porter James Zurhellen and Avery Swan Zurhellen. She also leaves her brother, H. L. (Bud) Hamilton (Shirley) of Knoxville. Dick and Betty moved to Memphis shortly after their marriage, where they started their family, having four children in five years. Life was hectic, as one might imagine, with four young children. They were faithful members of Eudora Baptist Church for over 50 years, where Betty was a Sunday school teacher, sang in the choir, and was an accomplished soloist. Following Dick’s death, she joined Colonial Baptist Church. When the children were older, she worked in the Oral History Department at the University of Memphis for 14 years, where she was a part of many interesting interviews of famous Tennesseans. After she and Dick retired, they enjoyed traveling to places like Alaska and England. But, it was family vacations to Knoxville, where she was really at home. She thought east Tennessee was the greatest place on earth and loved hiking in the Great Smokey Mountains as a child, and then later with her family. That was truly heaven on earth to her! Betty’s children are grateful for the loving care that Nancy Cook provided to her for the last 1 year, 10 months and ½ day! Visitation will be at Memorial Park Funeral Home on Monday, December 8, 2014 from 10:30 a.m. until the funeral service begins at 11:30 a.m. Burial will be in Memorial Park Cemetery immediately following the service. Memorials may be sent to Colonial Baptist Church or the Baptist Children’s Home.Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave. Memphis, TN 38119, “Behind the Stone Wall.”
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