In Memory Of
May Williams
1917
2011
May Williams
July 6, 1917 — November 19, 2011
Mrs. L. J. Williams of Casper, 94, died in Buffalo, Wyoming on Saturday, November 19, 2011.
Born in Oelrichs, South Dakota, she grew up in the ranching country of the Black Hills. Her parents, Benjamin and Nellie, ran the town bank, the general store, and a cattle operation. In high school, she was a forward for the girl's basketball team, and her talent as a pianist was in demand at the town's only Methodist church and at community dances.
At Duchesne College in Omaha, Nebraska, her classmates nicknamed her "Bennie," as she would become known for the rest of her life. She met her future husband, Louis J. Williams of Laramie, a student at Creighton University, when he was dating her college roommate.
Shortly after they were married in 1941 at Ft. Lewis, Washington, he was deployed overseas and joined a US Army Unit, Merrill's Mauraders, which fought behind enemy lines in Burma and became the model for future Army special forces units. During the war, she returned to Oelrichs and taught history, English literature, typing, and shorthand in the high school, where she also coached girls' basketball and forensics and conducted two choral groups.
After the war, the couple lived briefly at Ft. Benning, Georgia then moved to Omaha in 1945. She worked as a secretary at St. Joseph's hospital while he earned a DDS degree from Creighton University. He began his dental practice in 1948 in St. Louis, Missouri, and they moved to Casper in 1950.
She sold real estate for Brokerage House then joined Stratton Real Estate in 1984, where she worked in the property management department before retiring at age 93 in 2010.
She is survived by two sons ? Jimmy, operations manager at the CamPlex Multi-Events Facilities in Gillette, and Pete, a correspondent for NBC News in Washington, DC. She is also survived by two grandchildren ? Sarah Kjorstad of Tacoma, Washington, and Burt Williams of Portland, Oregon ? and one grandson, Landon Kjorstad.
Bennie Williams was preceded in death by a son, Timothy, a victim of the nationwide polio epidemic in 1953, and by her husband, Louis, in 1999.
MEMORIAL SERVICE: A memorial service will be conducted on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 701 South Wolcott St, Casper, at 11:00 a.m. with The Rev. Philip Major officiating.
Donations may be made in the name of Mrs. L. J. Williams to the Blue Envelope Health Fund, Post Office Box 2177, Casper, WY 82602.
Born in Oelrichs, South Dakota, she grew up in the ranching country of the Black Hills. Her parents, Benjamin and Nellie, ran the town bank, the general store, and a cattle operation. In high school, she was a forward for the girl's basketball team, and her talent as a pianist was in demand at the town's only Methodist church and at community dances.
At Duchesne College in Omaha, Nebraska, her classmates nicknamed her "Bennie," as she would become known for the rest of her life. She met her future husband, Louis J. Williams of Laramie, a student at Creighton University, when he was dating her college roommate.
Shortly after they were married in 1941 at Ft. Lewis, Washington, he was deployed overseas and joined a US Army Unit, Merrill's Mauraders, which fought behind enemy lines in Burma and became the model for future Army special forces units. During the war, she returned to Oelrichs and taught history, English literature, typing, and shorthand in the high school, where she also coached girls' basketball and forensics and conducted two choral groups.
After the war, the couple lived briefly at Ft. Benning, Georgia then moved to Omaha in 1945. She worked as a secretary at St. Joseph's hospital while he earned a DDS degree from Creighton University. He began his dental practice in 1948 in St. Louis, Missouri, and they moved to Casper in 1950.
She sold real estate for Brokerage House then joined Stratton Real Estate in 1984, where she worked in the property management department before retiring at age 93 in 2010.
She is survived by two sons ? Jimmy, operations manager at the CamPlex Multi-Events Facilities in Gillette, and Pete, a correspondent for NBC News in Washington, DC. She is also survived by two grandchildren ? Sarah Kjorstad of Tacoma, Washington, and Burt Williams of Portland, Oregon ? and one grandson, Landon Kjorstad.
Bennie Williams was preceded in death by a son, Timothy, a victim of the nationwide polio epidemic in 1953, and by her husband, Louis, in 1999.
MEMORIAL SERVICE: A memorial service will be conducted on Monday, Nov. 28, 2011 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 701 South Wolcott St, Casper, at 11:00 a.m. with The Rev. Philip Major officiating.
Donations may be made in the name of Mrs. L. J. Williams to the Blue Envelope Health Fund, Post Office Box 2177, Casper, WY 82602.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of May Williams, please visit our flower store.
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