Gladys Lee Williams 

Published 12:40 pm Tuesday, July 26, 2022

Funeral Services for Gladys Lee Williams will be Saturday, July 30, 2022, at noon in the chapel of Lakeview Memorial Funeral Home. Visitation will be held Friday, July 29, 2022, from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m., and social distancing guidelines will be strictly enforced. Interment will be at Cedar Hill Cemetery following the funeral service.

Gladys Williams passed away Monday, July 18, 2022, at Merit Health River Region Hospital in Vicksburg, MS. She was 90 years old.

Her Journey Gladys Lee Williams was born September 10, 1931, to James Wilson, Sr. and Irene Williams Wilson in Vicksburg, Mississippi. She was the eldest of six children which included four brothers and one sister. Gladys confessed Christ and was baptized in August of 1946 by Rev. Irving at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Bovina; and upon moving to Michigan, she joined East Lake Baptist Church of Detroit in June of 1963.

Gladys Lee Williams helped organize the Candettes Social Charity Club in 1962, serving as treasurer. This organization served the community through their adoption of two schools and two convalescent homes that members visited regularly. Mrs. Williams also volunteered at the Sophie Wright Community Center where she helped make tablecloths and costumes for the center’s spring carnival.

As a member of what later became The Historic East Lake Baptist Church, Gladys Williams served as an usher and president of the Senior Missions ministry where

she organized monthly visits to three nursing homes with her missions’ group. Mother Williams remained an active member of East Lake until her return to Bovina in July of 2008 where she joined St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church of Bovina, MS and remained faithful until she parted this life.

Because education was highly valued in her household, Gladys Williams attended elementary school in segregated Warren County and continued her education at Southern Christian Institute High School and Junior College, a mission boarding school in Edwards, MS. Despite most of the students being boarders, Mrs. Williams lived at home and rode the Continental Trailways bus to school each day to earn an associate degree.

After obtaining her degree, Gladys Lee Williams taught students in her home state until she married Robert Williams in 1953 and moved to Detroit where they raised three children. For 22 years, Gladys worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan before retiring as a billing unit supervisor in 1988.

After her retirement and with activism in her spirit, Gladys Lee Williams continued to volunteer for numerous organizations. She served as a court watcher, a member of the voter registration team, and as a nursing home advocate, just to name a few. Gladys Williams became the second vice president for the well-known Women’s Conference of concerns founded by the late Detroit City Council President, Erma L. Henderson.

An avid traveler, Gladys was always looking for that next great adventure. She coordinated and participated in several trips with family and friends creating lasting memories that will forever be cherished by those who love her.

Gladys was preceded in death by her parents, James Wilson, Sr., and Irene Williams Wilson; her mother-in-law, Ethel Moore; two brothers, Louis Eddie Wilson (Cecilia); James Wilson, Jr.; and her sister Mamie E. Wilson (Charles). Cherishing her memory are her children, Robert Williams, Sr. (Debra E.), Cheryl Anne Richardson, and Debra Jean Williams, all of Detroit, Mi; her brothers, Albert R. Wilson, Sr. and John W. Wilson, Sr., both of Vicksburg, MS; her sisters-in-law, Ruby Wilson and Hazel Wilson; her grandchildren, Jermaine Pippen, Robyn Williams, Prenette Hunter, Robert Williams, Jr. (Kulema) and DeLaine Williams; several great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, other family, and friends.

I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.

II Timothy 4:7 KJV