Mary Williams Watt

Mary was born on the 15th of August 1950, in Odessa, Texas to Helen Allen Williams and F. L. Williams, Jr. She is survived by her husband Dick Watt and her two children Ashley Williams Watt and Christina Williams Watt, along with her siblings, Allen Williams and wife Charmaine, Madeline Williams McLain and husband Jim, Loretta Williams Shumway and husband Steve, Joseph G. Williams and wife Nancy, and Helen Williams McDaniel, along with several nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Mary grew up in Monahans, Texas and initially attended public schools there, ultimately graduating from the Radford School in El Paso, Texas. Later she received her college degree from St. Edwards University in Austin in 1972. After college, Mary moved to Houston in 1977 and married Dick in 1982, a marriage that was truly a love affair as well as a partnership. Loving Mary came easy, not just for friends and family, but for so many different people for so many different reasons. Besides her kindness, beauty and physical fitness, she was truly a remarkable person, and there is too little space here to describe everything that made her so special, but maybe just a few highlights will provide a glimpse of Mary’s remarkable life.

Mary was raised in a ranching family in West Texas, and for reasons not entirely rational, even now, in 1995 she and Dick (whose family raised cattle in East Texas) purchased the Antina Cattle Company Ranch, located a mere 550 miles from Houston. While Mary lived and maintained her very active life in Houston, she also ran the Ranch, and did so with remarkable knowledge and energy, managing every detail of the Ranch, building fences, fixing windmills and generally performing all the work a ranch requires, including working cattle on horseback. To watch Mary ride a horse was really special – truly a seamless blend of human and horse.

But at the same time, Mary’s life in Houston continued to bustle with activity. When the children arrived in 1986 and 1991, she immediately showed extraordinary maternal skill, and cherished countless special hours working, traveling and playing with her children and their friends. The birth of Christina in 1991 also prompted Mary’s service to the Gladney Center in Ft. Worth, where she eventually served as chairperson of its endowment fund.

But motherhood brought out her best and this – besides love for her children – led to her primary outside interest – education – especially The Joy School in Houston, where she presided over the Board of Trustees for over 10 years, and was instrumental in planning and raising funds for the new Joy School campus. In her honor, The Joy School recently made her Trustee Emeritus. Mary also served on the Board of Trustees of Episcopal High School, where she was active in all of Christina’s activities, both at Episcopal and later at the University of St. Thomas. She was also active in all of Ashley’s activities at Kinkaid, the United States Naval Academy, the United States Marine Corps, and Harvard Business School.

Beyond education, and Mary’s energy and natural talent for leadership and organization in anything she undertook, Mary had a true gift and love for fashion, interior decoration, and design, both professionally and just giving advice to her friends and family. Being the daughter of an engineer, and the great granddaughter of a prominent early Texas architect, Mary’s talent in these areas flowed effortlessly.

Besides many other accomplishments too numerous to mention here, in the early years of marriage Mary also contributed her time and talent to the Houston Ballet, and assumed the substantial burden of being the chairperson of the Houston Ballet’s first Nutcracker Market held in the newly opened George R. Brown Convention Center.

That was no small task, but she made it look easy.

But in everything she did, those fortunate enough to know Mary could not help but feel her sense of fun and joy in life, especially evident when she flashed her dazzling and radiant smile. That smile truly reflected her joy that extended to almost all things of beauty, particularly art, gardening, flowers, and all animals. In fact, in high school, and even now, her “Radford Girls” nickname for her is “Sunny”, an apt description of her disposition.

The family wishes to thank all of Mary’s many friends and relatives for their prayers and support during this difficult time, but special thanks to Fluvia Morales, Francisco Morales, Francisco Araniba, Irma Salinas, Nellie Salinas, and Victoria Hellyer. We also wish to thank Dr. Matt Campbell and his capable staff at MD Anderson Cancer Center, not only for their fine medical care, but also for their true kindness and compassion. Finally, our gratitude goes to Marty and Tammie White of Monahans, Texas, and Sam Hooper of Crane, Texas, who have given us able assistance and hard work in running the Antina Ranch for over 20 years.

Recounting Mary’s many talents, achievements, adventures and West Texas expressions would go on and on, but for now this must suffice. Mary’s Family will simply say words cannot express how much we love her and will miss her, and this world is truly a lesser place without her.

Friends are cordially invited to gather and share remembrances of Mary from five o’clock in the afternoon until seven o’clock in the evening on Wednesday, the 9th of January 2019, in the grand foyer of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service is to be conducted at two o’clock in the afternoon on Thursday, the 10th of January 2019, at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Road in Houston. Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent Bagby Parish Hall.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed toward The Joy School, One Chelsea Blvd., Houston, TX 77006.