Elsie Williams (1971)

WILLIAMS

Posted By: Linda Brittain (email)
Date: 2/25/2007 at 14:40:34

Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa
September 1971

ELSIE WILLIAMS

Elsie Williams, a lifelong resident of Earlham, died Saturday morning, September 25, at the Iowa Lutheran hospital in Des Moines.

She had been hospitalized the previous Tuesday for fractured wrist surgery. Death was due to a stroke.

Elsie Williams, daughter of Thomas E. and Leona Williams, was born November 4, 1889 on the farm where she lived until her death.

She attended public schools and William Penn college at Oskaloosa. Following graduation from Penn she taught in a number of Iowa high schools, the last being at Newton.

She remained single and gave much of her time and interest to the Earlham Friends church of which she was a lifelong member. Elsie served as clerk of the Monthly Meeting, president of the Ladies Aid where she devoted long service to its work, treasurer of the church and also of the Bear Creek Quarterly Meeting of Friends. She was a capable and loyal teacher of the Queen Esther Sunday School class for many years. At the time of her death she was an Elder of the meeting, a position she held for the last eight years.

Her service to the Women’s Federated Clubs was long and varied. She was a past department officer of the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs as well as a past district officer. She served her Chautauqua club as president and was a faithful attender as long as her health permitted. It was through her interest and efforts that the Cosmopolitan club was organized and whose members fondly called her their “mother.”

She was a member of the Dexter Womans Club and the Earlham Garden Club.

She is survived by a brother, Dr. Kenneth Williams, who resides at Panorama in the Panora area.