Janet Leigh Williams

Janet “Jan” L. (Imes) Williams, 75, died on November 16, 2023 after a courageous battle with Lewy Body Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Jan was born in Kewanee, IL and lived in Prophetstown and Rockford, where she met her husband Gaylon “Gay” L. Williams. Jan and Gay moved to Longwood, FL in 1978 and then moved to Green Bay, WI in 2001 to be closer to their grandchildren. After the loss of Gay in 2013, Jan moved to Williamsburg, VA. Jan’s career included working in public service utilities, utility software implementation, and medical insurance. Jan loved traveling, especially her trip to London with Gay, and traveled for her job all over the United States, Canada, and the Bahamas.

Jan was an enthusiastic reader and public library supporter and she participated in book clubs everywhere she lived. Jan took her daughters and grandchildren to libraries for story time before they could walk, sparking a lifelong love of books and literacy. Crafting was a passion of Jan’s, including ceramics, macrame, sewing, and scrapbooking. She enjoyed many scrapbooking weekends in Wisconsin. Jan also loved seeing musicals, including Hamilton, Cats, Oklahoma, and Mama Mia, especially at the Weidner Center in Green Bay and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

But most of all, Jan loved spending time with her grandchildren. She was a loving presence in their lives and they enjoyed sleepovers, museums, movies, and baking with their grandmother. Jan is survived by her daughters Jennifer (Randy) Druckman and Vicki (Derek) Hunt and three grandchildren Jeffrey, Adam (Boston, MA), and Emily (Brooklyn, NY.) She will be greatly missed. As Thornton Wilder said in Our Town, the highest tribute to those who have died is not grief but gratitude. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Heritage Humane Society of Williamsburg would be appreciated.