Jerry Seale Williford

Jerry Williford experienced the greatest event of his life on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Charlotte, NC when he went to be with his Maker, Lord, Savior, Advocate, and Provider. He died of cardiomyopathy at the age of 84. A celebration of life service will be held at Carmel Baptist Church in Matthews, NC on Monday, May 11 at 10 AM.

Jerry was born in Beaumont, TX, on January 11, 1942 to R. A., Jr. and Ila Williford. He spent his early life in Kountze, a small southeast Texas town where his parents operated a country general store along with his uncle Truett. He graduated from Kountze High School in 1960 where he played football, baseball, basketball, and ran track. He graduated from Baylor University in Waco, Texas in 1964 with a BBA degree in Accounting and from the University of Houston School of Law in 1969 with a JD degree. He was a CPA in Texas and North Carolina and licensed to practice law in Texas.

Jerry always told everyone that Harolyn was an answer to constant prayer. They met in Sunday School at South Main Baptist Church in Houston, TX on April 16, 1967 when she visited. Jerry said God clearly told him when she walked into Sunday School, that she was the One that God had chosen. He did not follow the church rules and turn in her visitor’s slip to the church office, as he did not want anyone else to know about her. Jerry and Harolyn were married at the church on December 8, 1967.

Upon graduation from Baylor, Jerry worked five years in the tax group of Exxon in Houston while attending law school at night. He then joined Grant Thornton, LLP (GT) in 1970 and made partner in 1977. In 1993 he was transferred to Chicago to lead its real estate tax practice. In 1996, he took early retirement from GT and joined Ernst & Young, LLP (E&Y) in Charlotte. After retiring from E&Y, he was invited to go back to work with the Arthur Andersen team that had joined GT in Charlotte and worked there until he officially retired a few days before he turned 70.

At the time of his retirement, Jerry was a member of the firm’s Washington National Tax Office where he was a nationally recognized specialist in the federal income taxation of partnerships, LLCs, and real estate. He authored many technical tax articles in the J. of Taxation, Tax Management Real Estate Journal, Tax Management Memorandum, J. of Real Estate Taxation, J. of Partnership Taxation, Real Estate Review, and the prestigious Practising Law Institute. He was also a frequent speaker at tax conferences throughout the U.S. and was quoted in various publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Jerry was ordained a deacon at Spring Baptist Church in Houston in 1976. He taught adult Sunday School classes at various churches for over 40 years. He and his family truly believed that one of the spiritual gifts that God gave him was teaching. He made studying and discussing the Bible exciting and fun.

Jerry’s hobbies included listening to classic country, bluegrass, and Cajun music. Loving history, he collected early American antiques and folk art from the late 1700s to the early 1800s. As a talented, self-taught artist, he also made reproductions of early American paintings, silhouettes, boxes, lamps, and Noah Arks. He also enjoyed their West Jefferson log cabin with a long range view of the mountains. Harolyn named the cabin “Almost There,” referring to Heaven.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Harolyn, his second love (his first love was Jesus), to whom he had been married almost 59 years, and his eldest daughter Danya Goerig and her husband Ed, of Houston, Texas, and their daughter, Adelyn Elise. Of the many blessings that God gave him over the years, he counted his wife, his daughters, and his son-in-law, at the top. He was extremely proud of Danya and Ed for giving him his only precious grandchild, Adelyn, who he was extremely proud of. He is also survived by his two cousins that were like a brother and sister to him, Truett Williford, Jr. and wife, Glenda, of Port Neches, Texas, and Evelyn Williford James and husband, Frank, of Orange, Texas. He is also grateful for his nephew, Bruce Williford, who was like a son to him, and wife Debra of Huntsville, TX, nephew Brent Williford and wife Shannon of College Station, TX, and niece Karen Williford Shade and husband Albert of Riverside, CA.

He is predeceased in death by his father, R. A. Williford, Jr. who died suddenly on Christmas Day in 1969 and mother, Ila Seale Williford, who died on Christmas Eve in 1974, a baby sister who lived one day, Barbara Ann Williford, and his older brother, Allen H. Williford and his wife, Mary Margaret Williford of Clear Lake, TX. We know Jerry is rejoicing in heaven by being reunited with his youngest daughter, Kaylyn Noelle Williford, who died at the age of 47 in January 2025.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests any contributions be made to Friends for Special Needs (www.friendsforspecialneedsnc.org) or Samaritan’s Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org).

Online condolences may be shared at www.McEwenPinevillechapel.com