Albert Wesley Williams

Funeral services for Albert Wesley Williams, 88, of West Monroe, Louisiana, will be held at 1:00 P.M., Saturday, December 16, 2023, in the chapel of Mulhearn Funeral Home of West Monroe, with Rev. Joe Stroud and Joey Wiley officiating. Interment will follow at Kilpatrick’s Serenity Gardens, under the direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home, West Monroe. The visitation will be held from 12:00 P.M. until the time of service.

My dad, Albert Wesley Williams, was born on August 27, 1935, to parents, Claude Otis Williams and Mabel Smith Williams, in West Monroe, Louisiana. Due to complications at birth his aunt Victoria from Eureka Springs, Arkansas, took care of him because he required medical attention. He stayed with her for the first two years of his life. He then spent most of his childhood on Smith Street in West Monroe, Louisiana. He had two brothers, three sisters, and a stepfather, Cecil Gross, that he cherished dearly. His favorite past times were fishing, which he did plenty of on Cheniere Lake. Spending time at his Maw Belle’s farm, with his brother, Otis, and helping Cecil work on cars.

He met the love of his life, Violet Annette Tarver on a double date with another couple. He then joined the Air Force and got married in 1955, which started the journey of a lifetime. He served his country for twenty years and was married to our mother for sixty-two years! They had eight children together, six boys and two girls. After his retirement from the military, he went to work for the Orthopedic Clinic in Monroe, where he worked for thirty-one years. He didn’t really know what it meant to be retired. He helped my mother with a daycare that she operated out of their home. He never met a stranger and could always find someone to talk to whether it be at the hometown café, the bank, the clinic, hospitals, or taco bell. He was such a genuine person, who always had a smile on his face and a great story to tell.

The greatest thing in my father’s life, other than my mother, was his lord and savior, Jesus Christ and his work. He became a child of God, in 1962, and never looked back. He was a helpful, faithful, and supportive member of every church he attended. There was no task too small or too large for him, whether it be remodeling, furnishing, or helping build a new church. He was a devout church member and was an usher and bus driver. Before and after every service he would leave long before his family, so that he could go pick people up for church. He helped with any and every project that he could, one of which included establishing a church in Japan, and furnishing it with items from a military base that was closing. That’s how great our God is! Who would have thought that he needed him to help Brother Hall and his family, missionaries, and establish a work there in Tokyo, Japan. He had a gift for raising money for the Lord’s work and eagerly accepted the challenge every time. He loved the Lord, Jesus, and people. If he could help someone, he would do it or figure out who could. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. He left an impression that will last for many generations to come.

His gift to us is having the God kind of faith, for everything is possible with God! He never lost hope or trust in his God. Dad left us with a lifetime of stories of God’s unwavering love and faithfulness to the Lord, his wife, and children. Thank you, dad, for all you have done and the sacrifices you made for us and every person whose path you have crossed! You left your mark on us!!! We will forever love and cherish you.

He is preceded in death by his wife of sixty-two years, Violet Annette Tarver Williams; his sons, Ronnie Williams, Donnie Williams, and Michael Glen Williams; father, Claude Otis Williams; mother, Mabel Smith Gross; and stepfather, Cecil Gross.

Left to cherish his memory are his children, Larry Dale Williams and his wife, Edna, Donna Kay Stroud and her husband, Joe, Robert Wesley Williams and his wife, Amy, Darrell Eugene Williams and his wife, Carolyn, and Alicia Nicole Paulson; brother, Otis Williams; sisters, Mildred and Joanne; sister-in-law, Betty Carter and spouse, Delma; seventeen grandchildren; and twelve great grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to Gideon’s International.