Barbara Mae Williams

Barbara Nilan Williams was born January 14,1936 in Queens New York, and she died June 23, 2025 in Raleigh North Carolina.

This makes her 21 years old at the time of her death. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

She is predeceased by her husband, Thomas E. Williams and her son, Edward V. Williams.

Bobbie was a strong woman from Queens, New York, which is another way of saying she was a tough Irish broad—and especially proud of the Irish part. Incidentally, she never lost her Queens accent which made her quite popular in North Carolina. She fought for what she thought was right and never minced words. You pretty much always knew where you stood with Bobbie. For better or for worse.

Feisty to the end, her final words to her children, in that infamous Long Island accent, were, “Get outta here. You’re full of it.” Her children wouldn’t have it any other way.

There were two accomplishments in Bobbie’s life that she was particularly proud of: she worked as support personnel for The Federal Bureau of Investigation in San Francisco. To hear her tell it, she single-handedly whipped said Bureau into shape.

And when she was 16 she got thrown out of a roller skating rink because her skirt was too short. She loved that story most of all. As tough as she was, she was equally as tender and compassionate. She loved her husband of 52 years with all her heart. And she loved her children and gave them a happy home and good memories. She could cook and sew and make birthdays and Christmas magic. She was not a wealthy woman, but she opened her home to family members who were in need of a place to stay and cared for them too.

She had a good sense of humor and a really great laugh.

Her pleasures were simple ones. For Bobbie, the Price is Right was the greatest television show in the history of television, and the secret to a happy life was found in copious amounts of Sauvignon Blanc. Who are we to argue?

Barbara is survived by her son, Thomas E. Williams Jr., and her daughter, Laura Jean Williams, her sister, Virginia L. Schumacher, and her seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

She was greatly loved and she will be greatly missed.

“Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand