Sharon Jean Williams

Sharon Jean Williams always preferred to be called Jean. She dedicated her life to her children, grandchildren, friends and cats. Jean was born in Goshen Indiana in 1943. One of her fondest memories growing up was going to her grandparents for Christmas Eve, though she never believed in Santa because as she said, “they didn’t have a chimney”. At age 15 she moved to Benton Harbor where she graduated from high school in 1961. She attended Benton Harbor Community College where she met her former husband Charles Williams. They were married in 1962 and welcomed their daughter Robin the following year. In 1965 the couple moved to Detroit and welcomed their second daughter Tracey in 1966. The couple divorced in 1975. Two years earlier Jean had moved to Kalamazoo with her two daughters to begin her college education at Western Michigan University. It was at that time she met a new neighbor, fellow single mother and Western student Yvonne, whose daughters Collette and Melanie would become like daughters to Jean. For the next 15 years Jean and Yvonne would raise their children next door to one another. Jean went on to graduate from Western with first a Bachelor of Science and then a Master of Science, all while working a full-time job and raising two children on her own. In 1981 at age 37 Jean quit smoking and learned to swim. She spent her career first as a teacher and then as a librarian. Reading was one of her passions and it was a love she passed down to her children. She probably read more than 500 books over her lifetime which she loved discussing with her longtime friend Sue. One of Jean’s favorite places was Hawaii and she was able to travel there twice. The first time with her daughters in 1997. The second time with her close friend Barb in 2003. Jean loved to play board games and cards and for many years had a monthly pinochle game with her close friends Pam, Mary and Fran. Jean was a staunch Democrat, believer in equal rights and an atheist. These are just a few of things she would want us all to remember about her. Most importantly she’d want us to remember her love for her daughters Robin and Tracey, her grandchildren Maya and Atticus, and her many cats: Merrycat, Pepper, Tucker, Tanya, Maggie and Beauty.