Marian Hillard Williams

Marian Williams had resided in West Palm Beach since 1958 where she met her husband, John Risca Williams. They were married for 48 years. Her husband died in 2005. They have two children, David Bryn Williams of West Palm Beach and John Risca Williams, Jr of Atlanta, Georgia.

Marian Williams was born on March 18, 1929 in Bowersville, Georgia. She graduated from Hart County High School. She was one of only three women in her class at Southern College of Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. Upon graduation in 1953 she was hired as a pharmacist at Georgia Baptist Hospital. She moved to Miami, Florida in 1955 to accept a position at Mercy Hospital. In 1957 she moved to West Palm Beach to work at St Mary’s Hospital. Being an enterprising women, she purchased Moore’s Rexall Drug Store and opened Marian’s Pharmacy on Belvedere Rd. in 1966. She was the first woman pharmacist in Palm Beach County to own her own business.

In her free time, Marian raised orchids and at one point had over 500 plants. She was a member of The Orchid Society of the Palm Beaches. She was a frequent volunteer at the Mounts Botanical Garden.

Marian’s cremated remains will be interred on January 6, 2018 at the City of Bowersville Cemetery. Details to be released later. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to The Orchid Society of the Palm Beaches, the Mounts Botanical Garden and the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.