Toni Ann Terrando McWilliams

Toni (Terrando) McWilliams, trusting her Lord & Savior Jesus Christ entered into eternal rest on January 30, 2010 after an 18 month battle with ALS. Toni was born Feb 3, 1940 in Clinton Indiana to Mario & Viola Terrando. The family moved to Phoenix in 1951. Toni attended Westwood Elementary, West High & Phoenix College. She was a former member of Westwood Baptist Church & Bethany Bible Church. She is survived by loving husband David, son Ron (Barbara), daughter Dana, stepsons Phil (Terri) & Scott (Karen), 7 grandchildren & 1 great grandchild, sisters Nicole Reynolds & Nedra Lawson (Jim), and many wonderful friends. Toni always said taking care of grandsons Ryan & Austin was her greatest joy in her life.

Some of Toni’s favorite things included the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and the 4th of July, flowers, humming birds, dominos, scrapbooking, decorating her home, making desserts, Diamondback’s baseball, the Arizona Cardinals - especially the Kurt Warner story, hanging out with friends and family up in the high country, laughing and eating her father’s spaghetti sauce. Of course we can’t forget one of her most favorite things - chocolate; which she considered one of the main food groups. We could go on and on about the interests of Toni but what’s really important is her life’s body of work. The three things that were really important in her life were Friends, Family and Faith and we’d like to share them with you.

FRIENDS: Unlike family, you get to choose your friends and Toni had many she cherished, some just met her this year, and some have been near and dear to her for fifty plus years. She loved to hold scrapbooking classes; while she enjoyed her favorite hobby like most of us do, it’s the friends along the way that make it so enjoyable. In the 5th grade Toni became friends with a girl in her class named Dolli and they remained best friends to this day. During this last and most difficult year Dolli Peralta was at Toni’s side every Wednesday and some weeks, even more often. Dolli wrote a note to Toni that said: “If you’ve been lucky enough to have a best friend like Toni for sixty years, you’ve been lucky enough; but somehow that’s still not long enough…”

FAMILY: Toni has two sisters, Nicole and Nedra. Both of them had a wonderful and unique relationship with Toni typical of the sister-to-sister bond. For Nedra it was something more. Their mother Viola had been ill for many years and as such Toni filled the motherly role for many of Nedras formative years. In 1962 at the age of 22, Toni gave birth to her first child. Ronald was named after one of Toni’s childhood friends whose parents came to Phoenix from Clinton, Indiana. Ten years later Toni married Dave McWilliams who had two boys of his own, Phil and Scott. A year later Toni and Dave had their first and only child together. Dana was the first and only girl added to the mix of boys. Dana Suzanne McWilliams was born on July 4th, 1973 and is affectionately known as the families “firecracker”.

Toni tended to, supported, and loved all of the children that her family had brought into her life. Many children and grandchildren have been in and out of Toni’s house over the years and all were special to her and she loved them like they were her own. In 1992 and 1996 Ron and his wife Barbara gave Toni two grandsons Ryan and Austin. Toni cared for both of them from their infancy well into grade school, just as Toni’s mother had done for her and Nicole’s children twenty five years prior. This was a challenging time in Toni’s life; chasing after two little boys while tending to her aging and later ailing parents. Those of you that know her have heard Toni say often, is the time she spent caring for Ryan and Austin was the “best time of her life….” Toni can be given much credit for the fine young men Ryan and Austin are today.

Friends and family alike would all like to acknowledge the loving care Toni’s husband Dave has provided over this difficult year. There love was stronger than ever and it was apparent to all.

FAITH: The last thing we want to touch on is Toni’s Faith in Christ the Lord. She didn’t just reach out for help from God or the potential of Heaven once she was diagnosed with ALS, she had lived the life of a devout Follower for decades. As difficult a time as this has been on Toni’s family, they simply couldn’t imagine what a loss this would be if they didn’t know she was going home to be with the Lord. Those of you that understand and feel similarly know that just as there is a God in heaven, Toni has a place there thanks to the Gift of Grace through Christ.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 A.M., Thursday, February 4th at Shadow Mountain Mortuary, 2350 E. Greenway Rd. in Phoenix. Donations may be made in Toni's name to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix, AZ 85014.