Frances Sansom Williams, age 100, of Montgomery, Alabama passed away on Friday May 8, 2020. Frances was born December 21, 1919. Known as Meme, she is survived by; daughter Gail (Kit) Brendle; grandchildren Jay Brendle, Hunter (Bethany) Brendle, and Jenna (Brent) Walker; great grandchildren Fischer Brendle, Avonlea Brendle, Archer Brendle and Emma Walker. Frances was preceded in death by her husband Arthur Harold Williams and son Alan Harold Williams.
Mrs. Williams started work in Liggetts Drug store as a soda fountain girl, then clerk, then head of cosmetics but most importantly, met her future husband Harold there. Later they became co-owners of Dixie Rexall Drugs, until 1974. As she got closer to 'retirement age', she also worked at Adam's Drugs, delivering prescriptions to nursing facilities. Her last job was at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, working with their 'theater school fest' program. She finally retired...at AGE 94!!
We find comfort in knowing that upon Meme's arrival in heaven, she was greeted with the words “well done my good and faithful servant.”
Her grandson, Jay, described her with: "I'd say the things people would remember most would just be how incredibly warm and friendly she was. She really had a way to make people feel so, so good about themselves, about life, about everything. Her smile lit up a room, she touched you when she talked, her eyes sparkled, you know...she was just one of those very unique humans that made you feel completely at ease, comfortable, happy and loved all the time. She was also an incredible cook. An invitation to her house for Sunday post-church lunch was an honor that friends of Hunter, Jenna and I were always thrilled to receive. She cooked dozens of amazing dishes, but the two most infamous items were definitely her cornbread and her lady peas. Her grandkids and great-grandkids were darn near raised on these lady peas. 'Meme's peas' sort of became a trademark, much like Famous Amos cookies, Conecuh Sausage or Angus beef. As I've watched her great grandkids start to talk, it seemed like one of their earliest, if not their first sentence was, 'more Meme peas, please.'"
Active pallbearers will be: Randy Williams, Mike Davis, Jeremy Dickey, Nick Letlow, Davy Tyner and Keith Morrison. Honorary pallbearers are: Guy Slayton, Charles Hall, Blake Kelly, Henry Gilliland, Doyle Blackwell, Dan Woodruff and George Barker.
Due to the current CDC restrictions and a willingness to try to stick to Meme's wishes, a Private Celebration of Life service is scheduled for Wednesday, 11:00 am, at Heritage Baptist Church. Check https://www.facebook.com/gail.williamsbrendle for a live stream video. Friends are encouraged to share fond memories and expressions of sympathy at www.Leak-MC.com for the Williams family.
