Leo Williams passed away peacefully around 6 a.m. on August 30,2016, at Avamere Court in Keizer. A former resident of Medford, Oregon, she moved to be closer to her daughter Dolores (Mike) McNulty, her grandchildren Ryan (Jill) McNulty of Redmond, Brenden of Bend, Robert (Rachel) Hartley of Seattle, and John (Leanne) Williams of Albany and her great grandchildren Lindsay (Mike) Ciochon of Portland, and Jordan Williams of Albany. She has one granddaughter Angela (Derek) Matchett and another daughter Pam (Bill) Sheldon that reside in Medford.
Born in the little town of Gurdon, Arkansas, on October 26, 1922, to Harvey Lee and Eva Mae Coon her nicknames, based on her 4'11" frame, were Skeeter and Little bit. As a young girl she recalled spending time at the soda shop after school, hearing the radio play through open windows on her way home, and never missing a beat as she walked. She married Alvin "Gale" Williams, 8 days before Pearl Harbor at the age of 19. They were married after waking of the preacher and his wife on their way out of town to honeymoon at Hot Springs, Arkansas. Gale was a saw filer and his work in lumber and the search for a better life sent them to Oregon. Originally settling in Coos Bay, they eventually moved back to Arkansas after their home in Coos Bay burned to the ground, then to Garland, Texas where Gale worked for Jackson Cookie Company, and then back to Coos Bay. In the early 60's they moved to Medford after Gale took a promotion with Jeffrey and Barry. Gale lived in that area the rest of his life and Leo lived there until December, 2015 when she moved to Avamere's assisted living in Keizer. By the time they were married 25 years, they had moved 26 times. By 50 years, they had moved 27 times. Leo will be remembered for her inquisitive nature, artistic abilities, creative sewing, and her love of talking. There were no strangers. Just friends you hadn't met yet. She loved music and poetry and prided herself on knowing the words to poems she learned back in high school which she still remembered at age 93. She marveled at hand held omputers called smartphones, which could retrieve the lyrics of poem, songs, answer any question through Sin, or retrieve pictures of her grandmother with the help of ancestry.com l_eo loved cooking buttermilk biscuits with milk gravy and eating it with crisp bacon. Another favorite was black-eyed peas and cornbread served with turnip greens. Company was a pleasure and her home opened to visitors far and wide. She was a self -declared Coca Cola Classic addict, and figured she'd kicked the habit when she began drinking her Chai tea mixture with two parts sweet Chai tea and one part pure Coke. She was a hoarder aka recycler. Anything with a future use needed to be saved. Backs of menus, Kentucky Fried Chicken containers, coca cola boxes, or junk mail, all had another use. Her grandchildren would rerrark she'd need to be a recycler, but she was perhaps the ultimate one. Her favorite pastime for the last 30 years was blackjack. She tried hundreds of systems and was still looking for the magic formula the day before she passed away. If you can take a seven, then take the hit was the latest. She loved visits to the casino and wanted to get better to go one last time. Her husband Alvin Gale Williams died in 2003 in Medford, and her son John Harvey Williams died in March of this year in Sheridan, Arkansas. As she prepared to leave this earth, she mumbled her best friend of sixty years name, Alyce, and said it had been too long. She died the next morning. Leo will be missed, but her stories and memories will be remembered. A memorial has not yet been planned, but if you'd like to be on the guest list, please let the family know.
Dmcnult@juno.com The family would like to thank all the wonderful people at Avamere which made these last few months memorable. Special thanks to Jessica, Lindsay, Rachelle, Maria, Janet, Kayla, Nicole, and Krista as well as Signature hospice nurse Kitrena and her staff and volunteers Loyal, Lorraine, and Lindsay. You are all special people who made my mom feel most loved.