Sarah Ward Williams

Mrs. Sarah Ward Williams passed away Saturday, January 18, 2020. She was 71.

Sarah Ward Williams was born January 6, 1949, in Evergreen, Alabama, to James Tillman (“J.T.”) and Molly Mitchell Ward.  She was their only daughter and the middle of their 3 children.  During her early years, her great aunt, Frances Skiles, lived with her family on their farm and acted as a third “parent,” helping raise Sarah with boundless joy and love.  Sarah attended Brockton Elementary School and Evergreen High School and later worked toward a pharmacy degree. With her tranquil beauty and inquisitive mind, she shared wide-ranging experiences with her many friends. Sarah was especially attracted to the outdoors, as well as to the study of science. 

She competed in horse shows with her lively mare, Lightening, enjoyed waterskiing on the family pond, and in later years became a crackerjack snow skier. She traveled each year with her family to Ohio and Tennessee to visit relatives and also traveled widely in the Northeast. A visit to Niagara Falls with her parents and brothers was one of her favorite adventures. On the farm, Sarah had an exceptionally green thumb when it came to flowers.  Even into her later years, she was continually expanding the array of rose bushes around her home. But beyond pets and sports, Sarah had an even more special talent: science, especially medical science.  Whenever a family member or friend or pet had a health problem—and there was an ever-expanding number of such problems as the years went by—Sarah would immerse herself in research and try to diagnose the problem as well as suggest remedies. She came close to a degree in Pharmacy but never completed it.

In 1972, Sarah married Preston Williams, a union that brought Sarah her greatest joy: the birth of a son, Patrick Stewart Williams. Sarah moved with Stewart to Mobile and began a career in children’s fashion design with her own label, “Sunday’s Child—Heirloom Originals,” and later founded a Mobile employment agency.

Throughout her many years, Sarah remained proud of her Alabama roots, and her wide group of friends remains proud of her and of the happiness she brought to so many others. Despite setbacks in life, she remained resilient and always caring for those around her.  Sarah was preceded in death by her parents and by her younger brother, Walton Lee Ward.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 25, 2020, at Cope Keahey Chapel with Pastor Wayne Shepherd officiating. Interment will follow in the Magnolia Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to services.

Survivors include son, Patrick Stewart (Cody) Williams of Saraland; brothers, Tim (Zelime) Ward of Fort Worth, Texas, Frank (Becky) Hickman of Greenville; grandchildren, Hunter, Connor, Piper, Kassidy, Spencer, and Baylee; several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

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