Mary Beth Williamson

Mary Beth Williamson died at home with her family on October 24, 2022. Mary Beth was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma to Otis Lee James, Sr., and Isabella Storrie James. Mary Beth graduated from Lamar High School in Houston in 1951 and attended Rice University for three years. She married John Albert (“Jack”) Williamson, Jr. in August 1954. When Jack and Mary Beth got engaged, she promised her father that she would finish college. She graduated from the University of Denver in May 1955 with a Bachelor’s degree in English.

Mary Beth championed public education throughout her life. In 1976, she was elected to the first of three terms as a trustee of Alamo Heights Independent School District. She lost a race for the Texas State Board of Education in 1986. In 1989, Governor Bill Clements appointed her to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, on which she served until 1996.

Mary Beth was elected to two terms on the Olmos Park City Council, and served on numerous boards of directors, including Cullen/Frost Bank, KLRN, Bexar County Hospital District University Health System, San Antonio Area Foundation, Hospice San Antonio, and the San Antonio Botanical Society. She also served on the advisory boards of the Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics at UTHSCSA and the San Antonio Young Women’s Leadership Academy. She was widely admired for her candor, good judgment, and wit.

Mary Beth took great delight in mentoring younger women. She loved her family and was a devoted friend to many, an avid reader, and a keen supporter of the arts. She and Jack were intrepid and dedicated grandparents who traveled many miles over the years to visit their children and grandchildren in Australia, Europe, California, Oregon, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Mary Beth's family is extremely grateful for the love and care that Elen Palanca, Jane Little, and Gemma Palanca-Kiang provided to Mary Beth’s parents, and more recently to Mary Beth in her final years. Her family is also grateful for the compassionate care of the staff of River City Hospice.

Mary Beth was preceded in death by her parents and her older brother, Otis Lee James, Jr. She is survived by Jack and his sister, Nancy Ellen Dean; her children Julie and John, and their spouses Michael and Lauren; her grandchildren Alex, Liz, Lucy, Ned, and Alex’s wife Peri; her great-grandchildren, Tavi John and Banu Isabella; and her nieces and nephews Robert, Kelly, David, Ellen, and Bobby, and their spouses, children, and grandchildren.

A private memorial service will be held for family and close friends. Mary Beth’s family requests that in lieu of flowers, well-wishers send donations to the San Antonio Young Women’s Leadership Academy Foundation, https://www.ywlafoundation.com/. All who knew Mary Beth are invited to share their memories about her on the Porter Loring website.