Florida "Ida" Montoya Williams

Beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, Florida (Ida) Montoya Williams died peacefully with her devoted husband of 53 years, Albert (Al) Williams, by her side in Cary, NC on August 10, 2025. She was 82 years old.

Ida was born in San Jose, New Mexico, to her parents, Miguel and Antonia Montoya, on May 5, 1943. One of nine siblings, Ida and her family moved throughout New Mexico and Colorado until finally settling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she graduated from Albuquerque High School in 1962. She started her career in fine jewelry sales at Judd’s Jewelers in Albuquerque. Ida met her husband in Albuquerque after Al took a job as a menswear buyer for Fedway Department store and moved across the country from the Washington DC area to the Land of Enchantment. So began a loving partnership that took them to six states until finally putting down roots in Cary more than thirty years ago. They were married at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Little Rock, Arkansas, in October 1971.

Ida and Al have a son, Bradford (Brad) Williams, who lives in Raleigh with his family. Ida took time off from her career to raise her son and to take classes at Draughons Junior College in Knoxville, Tennessee, where they lived at the time. She graduated from Draughons with an Associate’s degree. After raising her son, Ida continued her career in fine jewelry sales across the East Coast, culminating in her retirement from the Bailey’s Fine Jewelry store located at the Village District in Raleigh in 2001. Ida was a true salesperson and loved working with her clients, especially those who were newly engaged, so that she could help them pick the perfect engagement and wedding rings to celebrate their love.

Ida had a huge heart and engaged in many service efforts, from her time volunteering for East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) in Knoxville, including work on the inaugural Fantasy of Trees gala event to raise money for ETCH, to her years volunteering at the gift shop at WakeMed Cary. She also spent countless volunteer hours at the Catholic churches she was a parishioner of up and down the East Coast and in North Carolina.

Ida also had a natural curiosity about the world, and she found the perfect partner in Al. They traveled the world together, ultimately visiting more than twenty countries. Her love of travel has been an inspiration to her family, encouraging them to see the world, too.

Her biggest joy, however, was her family. Ida dearly loved her husband, son, and daughter-in-law, Chrissy, but was especially proud of and doting towards her two grandkids, Brooke and Ryan. She suffered tremendously from liver disease and yet decided in her late 60s to endure the difficult recovery associated with a liver transplant so that she could live long enough to see her grandkids grow up. As a result of that liver transplant, we were blessed to have had 14 more years with our wife, mother, and grandmother.

Ida is preceded in death by her parents, Miguel and Antonia Montoya, her brother, Joe Montoya, and her sisters, Emily Martinez and Cippi Chavez. She is survived by her beloved husband, Al Williams, her son, Brad Williams (and wife, Chrissy), her grandkids, Brooke and Ryan Williams, her brothers, Jim Montoya, Rudy Montoya, Mike Montoya, and Louie Montoya, her sister, Mary Garcia, and her many nieces, nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews, all of whom she loved so very much. She is also survived by her adored dog, Chico.

Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral mass to be held at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Cary, NC at 11 am on Friday, August 22, 2025.

A reception will follow at the church. To live-stream the funeral mass, please go to https://www.stmichaelcary.org/live-mass/.