Toni Trees

The world has felt a little dimmer since March 20, 2025, when we said good-bye to our beloved Toni Trees at dawn on the first day of Spring.

Toni was born a 7th generation Texan on July 26, 1946, in Kilgore, TX. At the time, her mother, Dorothy Ahrens Lewis, was living with her parents, since Toni’s father, Jet Ollen Lewis, was overseas with his Army unit. Toni was the middle child of three sisters, Judith Ann (1943 – 2022), Toni Lynn, and Robin Kay (1953 - ).

Toni was a world traveler before she was 8 years old, living in Herzogenaurach, Germany for 3 years and Clark Air Force Base in the Philippine Islands for 3 years. She lived in Virginia until a 1959 move to State College, PA, where she graduated from high school in 1964. While in high school, she established a pen pal relationship with a former exchange student from the Peoples’ Republic of China; that almost cost her father his security clearance!

Toni was an early and voracious reader. She started her higher education in the fall of 1964 at a Quaker school, Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio. There Toni’s nascent beliefs in peace, service, social justice, and environmental activism grew to adulthood. In 1965, she followed a family tradition going back more than 6 (six) generations of serving in the military service; in her case, she served in the US Navy as a journalist. After earning an honorable discharge, she went to the University of California – Irvine to complete a degree in wildlife management.

She accepted a job with the PA Game Commission as a writer/editor for the PA Game News magazine. In this job, her vast experience with and knowledge of bats was utilized extensively. She gained some of her experience with bats while caving in the US, Canada, Mexico, and in many foreign countries for almost forty years (before and after this position). When her husband, MAJ William T. “Tom” Williams (pre-deceased her), was transferred to McDill Air Force Base, Toni followed him to Tampa, FL. She started a somewhat new career path as an EMT/Paramedic for Hillsborough County’s ambulance service, then taught others to become EMTs.

While she had spent some time doing cave rescue and a small amount of cave diving, her active caving days were winding down but not before she went caving in the Peoples’ public of China, Costa Rico, Columbia, the Peoples’ Republic of Hungary, Chile, and Belize – but Butler Cave in Virginia was her favorite and most-explored.

Toni finally moved back to Texas in 1997 and came to Nacogdoches where her mother and sister, Robin, lived; Toni attended Westminster Presbyterian Church and sang in the choir with her sister. At that point, Toni was consumed by her alcoholism; she was led by God to an AA meeting and started the major effort needed to “work the Steps”. She got her 1-year chip in mid-1999. When her mother died in October of that year, Toni was eternally grateful that she had seen Toni sober. Toni stayed sober for the remaining 26 years of her life.

Toni continued to work and to go to school pursuing a master’s degree in biology from SFASU. She found a wonderful job (for her) with the US Forest Service, Southern Research Station at SFA where she worked on a project that involved her handling Louisiana pine snakes and black pine snakes that had been trapped at Fort Polk, LA and bringing them back to the research station (good thing that she had a healthy respect for, but did not fear, most snakes).

When she was at Wilmington College she learned more about the Society of Friends (Quakers) and went to Quaker meetings for most of her adult life. When there was no longer a Meeting relatively close, she attended Austin Heights Church which became her extended family; she became involved with their prayer quilt ministry.

Toni is survived by her sister, Robin Moore and husband John (Nacogdoches, TX), her nephew Jason Moore and wife Sara (Candler, NC) , her grandniece Sadie Moore (Chapel Hill, NC), and grandnephew Zane (Raleigh, NC), and by special friends Carrel, Audrey, and Ben King (Nacogdoches, TX)

A memorial service will be held at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 903 North St., Nacogdoches, TX at 3:00 PM, Sunday, April 6, 2025; all attending are invited to a reception following the service. Her ashes will be spread in the garden at Austin Heights Church at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, you’re invited to donate to the Butler Cave Conservation Society at www.butlercave.org/content/donate.html

Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.