Emily Ann Reid Williams

Emily Ann Reid Williams departed this life on April 26, 2015, at the age of 87. She was preceded in death by her husband, William David Williams, to whom she was married 62 years. She is survived by their three sons and their wives: William Reid and Anne Lasley Williams of Knoxville, TN; James Warren and Regina Thompson Williams of Gaithersburg, MD; and Frederick David and Denise Denny Williams of Moscow, TN; nine grandchildren: James Edward (Marie) Williams, Warren Christopher Williams, Emily Kathryn Williams (Zane) Seals, Andrew David Williams, Amy Hope Williams, Warren David (Jennifer) Williams, Jonathan Reid Williams, Virginia Kate Williams, and Rebecca Lynn Williams; and three great-grandchildren. Emily was the last surviving member of her generation on her father's side and is survived by two first cousins on her mother's side. She was born March 6, 1928, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the only child of Lawrence Franklin Reid and Emma Laverte Friar Reid. She attended Sunnyside, where her mother taught, Brainerd Junior, and Chattanooga High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. As a senior, she was the top marksman on the shooting team and out-performed everyone else, including the boys in ROTC. She attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, where she received a B. A. in Biology in 1950. Emily then moved to North Carolina with her husband before returning with her family to Chattanooga in 1958. A few years later, she followed in her mother's footsteps as a teacher, serving at East Lake, Henry L. Barger, Sunnyside, and Big Ridge Elementary Schools. She was active in Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary Teachers' Society. Throughout her life, Emily was active in her church, singing in the choir and as a soloist. She and her husband participated in numerous mission trips to the Choctaw Indians in Mississippi while members at Brainerd United Methodist Church. In 2001, David and Emily moved to Moscow, Tennessee, where they added an apartment onto their youngest son's home. There, they continued to be active in the Senior Adult Ministries at Collierville United Methodist Church until they could no longer do so.