Lois Geraldine "Jerry" Williamson

“Jerry” Lois Geraldine Williamson, aged 92, passed away Wednesday, April 20, 2011in the Midland Memorial Hospital on Wednesday morning. Her husband of 63 years, J C Williamson, predeceased her in Midland on 13 August 2001. She leaves behind four children: daughter Toni W. Croft (husband Chancy Croft) of Anchorage, Alaska; daughter Mary Jane W. Wilmeth (husband Tom Wilmeth) of Midland, Texas; daughter Charla Williamson of Midland, Texas; and a son, Ralph Ervin Williamson of San Antonio, Texas (wife Marsha Cope Huie). A daughter, Margaret W. Hillin, predeceased her in 2009. Her grandchildren are: Kym Croft Miller of Portland, Oregon, Eric Croft and “Lee” Leland Croft of Anchorage, Alaska; Charlotte Amalie Williamson of San Antonio, Elizabeth Anne "Liz" Williamson of London and Austin, and Barbara Halina Williamson of Austin; Connie Barnes of Midland, Mary Fawn Duval and Leslie Moore of Tyler, Christie Sockwell, Anna Busick, and Steve Ferris of Midland; and Bobby Hillin Jr., Debbie Hillin Lamb, and Adrianne Hillin Lawless of Houston. Also, two brothers survive her: Rayburn Haskins of Quito, Ecuador, and Paul Haskins of Carrollton, Texas. She leaves 21 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. She was an imaginative and gifted homemaker, a gourmet cook, a life master in bridge, a charter member with her husband of the Midland Country Club, and a member of the Cotillion Club and the Petroleum Club of Midland. A talented horticulturist, she was for many years an active member of the local Garden Club. She competed in the Texas State Championship in tennis and taught family to play on the family tennis court. She taught piano to her daughter Toni, implanting a love for music passed on to her grandchildren. Jerry's understanding of beauty and color was apparent in the paintings she collected and the decorations in and landscaping of their homes. She and her late husband were widely traveled in Europe and South America. Born 12 December 1918, she graduated from Lasbuddie High School (near Muleshoe, Texas) as valedictorian in 1933. She graduated in 1937 from Texas Tech University at age 19 holding a cum laude Bachelor of Science degree in Home Economics and intending to become a dietitian. Love interfered with those plans. Immediately after graduation she married J C Williamson, well-known Midland geologist and independent oil operator and wildcatter. They married at the Methodist Church next to the Haskins family residence in Wolfforth, Texas, outside Lubbock, and their marriage lasted 63 years. She moved to Midland in 1937 with her husband, JC (John Conwell) Williamson, where he worked for Phillips Oil Company as a staff geologist. He became an independent oil producer in 1944, and remained an independent until his death in August 2001; when the Reporter-Telegram reported on page one that he had found more oil in the Permian Basin than anyone else. Jerry was a loving mother. She was always there for her children with support, emotional and financial, and guidance when they needed her. Mere words cannot adequately thank Dr. Gregory Bartha for his many years of dedicated caring for the Williamson family. The family is grateful, too, to Mrs. Williamson’s caregivers, especially Sylvia Gavia, Lucy Gavia Granado and Lucy’s whole Granado family; to Adela Gomez; and to the efficient, caring staff of Home Care Plus. Almost all her contemporaries are gone now, but for remaining friends and family, visitation will be at Ellis Funeral Home on Andrews Highway on Friday evening, April 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 30, in the Ellis Funeral Home chapel, with interment to follow at Rest Haven. Family and friends are cordially invited to a reception, following interment, at her home, 802 Palomino, Saddle Club Estates in Midland.