Wanda Williams

Wanda Williams of Bessemer, Alabama, formerly of Mineola, Texas, went home to be with her Lord on May 27. Visitation will be at the Beaty Funeral Home, English Chapel in Mineola on Tuesday, June 1, from 9:30 to 10:30 am. A graveside service in Mineola City Cemetery will follow at 11:00 am.

Wanda was born to Earl and Lillian Rollins on April 5, 1920, in Barlow, Kentucky, the fifth of eight brothers and sisters. All of her immediate family preceded her in death except for two younger sisters, Gladys Owen of Barlow and Virginia Karnes, who lives in Indiana.

Wanda graduated as an R.N. from Methodist Hospital School of Nursing in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1943 and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army Air Force. Assigned to surgery in the hospital at Keesler Field, Mississippi, she met Captain James Williams, M.D., of Mineola in an operating room. They were married in Biloxi, Mississippi on October 26, 1944, and she remained his devoted wife until his death in 2000. After the War, James and Wanda moved to Mineola, where she worked at his side to establish and grow a medical practice serving the community and they later retired.

Wanda and James had three sons and were blessed with five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, all of whom survive. Jim and his wife Harriet live in Bessemer, Alabama. His children are Jennifer, Brian, and Mary Beth; Jennifer and her husband Brad Nesbitt have three children: Allison, Parker, and Garrett. Lovic and his wife Mina live in Georgetown, Texas. He has a daughter, Holly. Paul and his wife Joni live in Plano, Texas and have a son, Chance. Wanda dearly loved all of her children, grandchildren, and daughters-in-law.

She always looked on the bright side of things, had a ready smile and a can-do spirit, and made a habit of writing short, encouraging notes to friends as well as family. In her last years she served as president of the residents' council at The Oaks assisted living facility in Bessemer, where she had many friends and greeted new residents. The world is a better place because she was here.