Margaret Ruth Williams

Was born in Zanesville, Ohio on May 12, 1916. As a young child, she marveled as her mother Ruth Meredith & her aunt Kitty joined a parade marching down main street to a women's voter registration table for the very first time. Margaret's father died when she was nine, and she moved into a small apartment, with her mother, her younger brother John, & a parakeet. As a teenager, Margaret was an avid bookworm and Girl Scout. She entered college near the end of the Great Depression, with the help of her Aunt Kitty. After majoring in math & English and graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University, Margaret went into teaching and helped put her younger brother through college. Margaret taught Sunday school, told her friends she was looking to marry a minister, and in fact married the Rev. Leland Williams in 1943. As a minister's wife, she organized church groups in Rev. Williams' Congregational churches at Avalon, Catalina and at Hemet, California. After that, she and her husband went into teaching in order to support their two sons, James Garner and Leland Lesley. While raising her children, Margaret taught in Victorville, Poway, and Escondido. After retiring, Leland and Margaret returned to their much-loved ranch in Poway, at which point, she went back to school, earned an MSW, and worked as a San Diego County social worker. She and her husband were very active in bringing the Vietnam war to a close. Later, they joined the Old Town Community Church in San Diego and were instrumental in helping the church survive cultural changes in Old Town. Margaret was always very fond of her California grandchildren, Michael and Kevin, taking them into her home for a time, even as her husband was dying. She made sure that the children and their mother Cheryl Williams had a home, first in Poway and then in Los Vegas. When her health began to decline, Margaret moved to Acton Massachusetts to be near her older son Jim. She attended the Acton Congregational church and visited the Acton senior center. For a time, she shared Jim's house with Jim, her grandson Dustin and grand daughter-in-law, Nicole. Margaret spent the last three years of her life at the Notre Dame Long Term Care center. She received loving care and regaled the staff with tales of her long life, such things as the scarcity of ice cream during the Depression, and her 14 mile hikes as a Girl Scout. On August 22, 2008, Margaret peacefully and gracefully passed on, accompanied by the sounds of a harp playing her favorite hymns. A memorial service will be held in her honor at the Acton Congregational Church on Thursday August 28 at 2pm, and at the Old Town Community Church in San Diego in September. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Notre Dame Long Term Care Center in Worcester, MA, or to the Old Town Community Church in San Diego. Memories may be contributed to her online memorial at legacy.com. Margaret is survived by her two sons James and Leland Lesley; her niece Sherry Meredith Ginn and nephew John Meredith Jr.; four grandsons, Michael, Kevin, Dustin, and and Jameson; & two grand daughters, Andre & Serena. Margaret's last precious family get-together featured a picnic with her son Jim, her Grandsons Jameson and Dustin, Dustin's wife Nicole, and her eight-month old great grand daughter, Symphanie Keeton-Williams.