Willie Louis Williams

My father, Willie L. Williams passed away peacefully at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia on March 18th, 2025, at 5:40pm after a brief but arduous fight recovering from cancer surgery at the age of 80.

Willie was born on February 12, 1945. He had a good sense of humor and a hardy laugh. There’s nothing his family couldn’t ask for that he wouldn’t give if he had it or wouldn’t sacrifice his own comforts for to give if he didn’t. He loved his mother dearly and promised her he would look after his sisters and that he did.

He had a lifelong love of football and was sometimes a credulous long-time fan of the Washington Commanders. He had a great mind for mathematics, a brilliant imagination and gifted hands for building and creating as he always gave gifts showcasing his talents.

He attended (West) Center Street Elementary School and graduated from Immaculata High School in Birmingham, Alabama. After graduation in 1963, he joined the United States Army where he would meet his future wife, Mildred McComb (Williams) and the two would eventually settle in at Fort Gregg-Adams (formally Fort Lee) in Petersburg, Virginia and start a family. After retirement from military service, he obtained his practical nursing license, practicing in the healthcare field for over 20 years.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Charlotte L. Millhouse.

He is survived by his wife, Mildred M. Williams and daughter, Nakitta L. Williams (Petersburg, Virginia);sisters Geraldine (Williams) Jones, Edith Williams and Alice (Williams) Jones; brother-in-law, Benjamin Jones (Birmingham, Alabama); nieces Niki J. Spears (Marietta, Georgia), Eboni Lisbon (Birmingham, Alabama) Kendra Thompson (Birmingham, Alabama), Kalyn Lee (Miami, Florida); his nephews Anthony Jones (Algonquin, Illinois), Kenneth Thompson (Clarksville, Tennessee) and many great and great, great nieces and nephews.

“If only we could know the reason why they went. We’d smile and wipe away the tears that flow…and wait content.”