Priscilla Buchs Williams, “Prim”, of Darien CT, the youngest of four, was born to Laura and Andre Buchs in the dog days of summer, 1945. After dueling with life-limiting illnesses for her last two years, she slipped away from us peacefully on the early spring morning of March 24, 2021. Her final days were filled with family visits, laughter, love, flowers, delicious handmade potato chips and beautiful art.
A deeply intelligent woman of many talents and passions, Priscilla had a successful landscape design business before becoming a writer and a journalist, and later in life she served in local government. A proud Darien High School graduate, she persisted for decades to eventually earn her Bachelor Degree in 1991 from the University of Bridgeport. Priscilla finished almost every NY Times crossword puzzle she started, and was a contestant on the original Jeopardy! show. A formidable scrabble foe, she spoke several languages well enough to have fooled more than one person as to her native tongue, while only occasionally mashing different languages together. More importantly, she was a mother, a wife and partner, a stepmother, a grandmother, a friend, a teacher, a mentor, a student, an adventurer and a fearless observer of life. Priscilla instilled a lifelong love of music in her children, and was a beautiful singer with a stunning vibrato and outstanding pitch. She had a profound love of poetry, art, well-written words, peonies, and glasses of chilled pink wine on hot summer evenings.
A gifted horticulturist, Priscilla had an encyclopedic knowledge of plants, and her award-winning gardens were admired by all who visited them. She loved beautiful landscapes, early morning light, beech trees in winter, and the way a well-planned garden bloomed almost year-round. She was gifted at pruning Bonsai trees, and was an orchid whisperer, helping them thrive and bloom when nobody else could.
Priscilla had a welcoming heart, almost to a fault, when it came to taking animals under her wing, including many chickens, dogs and cats; cockatiels, rabbits, doves, ferrets, turkeys, goats, geese, squirrels, turtles, fish, donkeys and horses; and the occasional lost or wandering human soul.
Priscilla loved to travel, and fervently believed that, whenever possible, we should all witness Patagonia's shrinking glaciers, let the warm waves of the Yucatán Peninsula wash over our feet, observe Mt. Etna's eruptions and sip Guinness with friends and family around a warm peat fire on a damp Irish day. She loved visits to botanical gardens, farmers markets and bookshops, and supporting local artisans was always high on her agenda no matter where she was.
Priscilla was an incredible cook. Her pantries and freezers were always filled with the fruits of her gardening and cooking labor, the choicest selections to be brought out and shared with friends and family whenever they stopped by to visit. Her homemade tomato sauce and meatballs, chicken soup and macaroni and cheese were legendary among those fortunate enough to have tasted them. The kitchen was always the heart of her home, and Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday because it brought family, friends and food together. Everybody loved her mashed potatoes and gravy and white beans Provencal.
Priscilla was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Roger and her brother, Andy; She is survived by her two children, Christopher Williams (Faye) and Katherine Williams (Ezra); her step-children Jennifer Williams Porto, Pamela Williams Bowen and Ian Williams (Colette); her grandchildren Andre Lee and Laurencia Lee; her step-grandchildren Camille Williams, Brenden Bowen, Stephanie Porto, Britney Bowen and Cole Williams; her sister Barbara Connolly and brother Doug Buchs; her nieces and nephews; many, many honorary relations in Ireland; and cherished friends from near and far, from every corner and era of her great big life. We will celebrate the love and the light that was Priscilla's life later this spring, and indeed, anytime the air is perfumed with the scent of lilacs and peonies, when a warm sea breeze washes over, and the pink wine is perfectly chilled.
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