Lynn Addison Williams

Lynn Addison Williams was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin on February 14, 1947 and died on December 29, 2023 in Tucson, Arizona. She had a BA degree in art from the University of Wisconsin (LaCrosse) and later earned an MFA in jewelry from Washington State University in Pullman. Following her MFA, she demonstrated extraordinary creativity while working in her own studio for four years while living outside of Uniontown, Washington in the southeastern corner of the state. Lynn lived a somewhat "back-to-the-land" lifestyle with her husband in an old farmhouse heated by a wood stove. Together they cultivated a large vegetable garden and a small flock of laying hens. In the winter she loved sitting in the warmth and greenery of the small greenhouse attached to the house where she was able to escape the snow, cold and wind.

Lynn enjoyed a close-knit circle of friends in that rural area --- a chosen family --- with whom she maintained friendships for many decades. Shared weekend meals and saunas were a staple of those years. This was a group that all heated their houses with wood and hence mounted annual fall firewood expeditions to the mountains of northern Idaho, nurturing their trusty fleet of late-1950s and early-1960s trucks.

As a grad student in the art department at WSU, Lynn’s studio was a hub of activity, with other grad students and friends dropping by to chat, admire her work, share their work and problem solve. Although she was primarily a jeweler, Lynn was also a talented potter who loved decorating her pottery with weird and wonderful additions. For several semesters Lynn not only taught the beginning undergraduate jewelry class, but also taught the non-credit night class for the community. One of her undergraduate students sold gemstones to classmates and has made a career of importing gemstones from all over the world and selling them to jewelers throughout the United States.

During those years Lynn worked primarily in gold, but her creativity was by no means limited to one metal or even jewelry. She loved serving tea to unsuspecting friends in ceramic mugs that she had made, friends who upon finishing their tea discovered a ceramic nose in the bottom of the mug. She loved trading with creative friends, whether it was jewelry, ceramics, fabric or clothing. She once traded a car for a patchwork coat made by the car’s owner. Her creativity was limitless. Lynn was twice juried into the Bellevue Crafts Fair east of Seattle where her jewelry was admired and purchased, although she had no hesitation about trading her jewelry for items that were being offered by other vendors. The tent for her booth at Bellevue was stretched over a frame made from used electrical conduit, and the tent itself was sewn by a friend in trade for pieces of her jewelry.

She and her husband bought a house and moved to Moscow, Idaho in 1978 where she continued making unique jewelry. In mid-1979 they moved for two years to the southern African country of Lesotho where her husband worked on a USAID project and Lynn worked for a small foundation that organized training for weavers. Lesotho produces large quantities of wool and mohair, much of which is woven into tapestries and rugs. Tapestries and African baskets became a new focus for Lynn as she collected local tapestries as well as baskets from all over southern Africa. One friend from her days in Lesotho said, “she lives on in my mind for her warmth, kindness and most of all, her dry, irreverent, and perceptive humor which I had many an occasion to enjoy.”

Lesotho was home to many development projects and agencies and hence people from all over the world. Lynn’s neighbors were couples from Austria and the UK. She loved hosting dinner parties with friends from the Netherlands, UK, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany and other countries and certainly enjoyed reciprocal invitations.

Returning to the U.S. in 1981, Lynn worked as an administrator for a WSU development project in Jordan. Divorced in 1986, she briefly moved to Eugene, Oregon before moving to Tucson, Arizona.

While living in Tucson, making friends came easily to Lynn. Her talents became widely known and appreciated. She started collecting buttons and making jewelry and small sculptures with them. While still creating with buttons and jewelry, she leaped into the world of decorative painting. She developed a relationship with a design firm which led to the creation of some of the best murals, faux painting and "fresco" type decorations in the southwest. Lynn spent much of her time embellishing ceilings and walls in some of Arizona's premier estates and designer show homes. She also created magnificent furniture, turning bland pieces into incredible works of art. Her painting transformed blank wood to tortoise shell and marquetry as well as faux gemstones. Her talent will be admired for many years to come in her works of art. She will be greatly missed by those whose lives she touched.

She is survived by her sister Sue Miyamoto (Ken) of Bloomington, Minnesota; cousin Chris (Ron) Bass; aunt Sharon Miller; brother-in-law Mike Cain; nephews Trevor Miyamoto, William Ertl, Matt Ertl; niece Mariko Miyamoto; many great nieces and great nephews; former husband Seth Beckerman- as well as her dear friends Barbara James and Mary Jane Weiboldt, who enriched her life greatly. Her younger sister, Merry, died unexpectedly just nine days prior, on December 20, 2023. We would like to thank Ray and Elise from Illuminated Hearts Home and her doctors and nurses, including Dr. Martz, who looked after her with love and respect in her final months.

She will be greatly missed and we will cherish the unique creativity she brought to all our lives.