Gwen B. Williams

Gwen was born on February 2, 1927 in Malta, Montana, to Junior and Myrtle Burke who came from West Virginia and North Dakota to homestead 60 miles south of Glasgow on the Missouri River in 1909. They built a cattle and sheep ranch on the prairie grasslands. Gwen grew up there during the Great Depression and World War 2 with her brother, Don Junior Burke who ran the ranch until his death in 2005.

She attended the Lone Pine School in South Valley Country and graduated high school while staying with her grandmother in Glasgow. She then went on to gain a bachelors’ degree from Montana State University at Bozeman, graduating in 1950. She was a member of the Kappa Delta sorority.

Soon after graduation she moved to Los Angeles California where she was reunited with a college friend, Stanley A Williams who had also moved to California after completing his degree at Bozeman. They were married on October 9, 1955 and began their life together in Newport Beach, California. In 1970 they moved to Mission Viejo California where they lived for 38 years. In 2008 they moved closer to family at a residence in Chandler, Arizona.

Gwen and Stan adopted their son John Burke Williams in 1960 and their daughter, Janet Elizabeth Williams in 1964. Gwen was a loving mother and spent her time as a homemaker, raising her children and working part-time as an elementary school teacher. She encouraged her children to earn a degree, live their dreams and pursue the lives they wanted, while always encouraging both to be independent and happy.

Gwen was a faithful member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the largest fraternal organization in the world which welcomes both men and woman members. She served various posts including Worthy Matron of her Southern California chapter.

She involved herself in various charities through the Presbyterian Church and the community. She had a knack for staying in touch with old friends who received regular phone calls and letters each and every year. Her memory for names of people, horses and pets, was nearly perfect. She was a walking database of personal histories and shared experiences. She was a life-anchor for everyone who ever became close to her.

Gwen struggled with kidney disease most of her life and over the past 13 years she overcame a stroke, cancer and even a heart attack with heart surgery all while receiving 3 days a week of kidney dialysis. Her family affectionately called her the Energizer Gwenie who just kept going and going. Through all of this Gwen kept a positive attitude and a fierce determination to live life to the fullest.

Survivors include Gwen’s husband of 57 years Stanley Alan Williams, her son John Burke Williams and daughter in law Ornamon of Southern Thailand, and her daughter Janet Forney, son in law Mark, and grandsons Blake and Lane of Chandler, Arizona. In Montana, Gwen is survived by her sister in law Julie Burke, and 3 nephews: Keith Burke who operates the family ranch; Kelly Burke, Tami, and their three children who also ranch south of Glasgow; and Casey Burke of White Fish.

A memorial service will be held to celebrate Gwen’s joy for life at 10:00 AM, Oct 27, 2012 at The Villages at Ocotillo in Chandler, Arizona. In lieu of flowers you may make a donation to the Arizona Kidney Foundation for research of Poly Cystic Kidney disease at WWW.AZKidney.Org. Arrangements entrusted to Valley of the Sun Mortuary, www.valleyofthesunfuneralhome.com