FRANZ O. WILLIAMS

WILLIAMS FRANZ OPIE WILLIAMS Franz Opie Williams, son of Opie Hannibal Williams and Lillian Verona (Fagan) Williams went home to be with Our Lord, Jesus Christ on Wednesday, October 2, 2013 in Silver Spring, Maryland. He died peacefully with family by his side. Franz was born on July 24, 1934, in Warsaw, NC. Franz is survived by his wife, Rebecca Williams, and son, Franz Daniel Williams of Silver Spring, MD; younger brother and sister, Conrad and Alise Williams of Bethesda, MD and Washington, DC respectively. He had many surviving aunts; cousins; nieces and nephews; mother-in-law; brother-in-law and sisters-in-law and close friends and neighbors whom he loved and cherished dearly. Franz moved with his family to Washington, DC where he grew up, 12 blocks from the U.S. Capital. He was interested in electronics at a very early age, leading him to become an Engineer. Franz served dutifully in the U.S. Army as an Electronics Engineer, and later transitioned to work for International Business Machines (IBM). He was an outstanding employee with many honors and awards and especially enjoyed mentoring fellow IBMers during his career. In 1992, six months following the birth of his son, he retired from IBM. He was a devoted father and husband and spent many years after retirement working at the school his son attended. Franz was a Deacon at the First Baptist Church of Wheaton, now Streams of Hope. Over the last two decades, he and his family worshipped at Forcey Bible Church and Streams of Hope. Franz was an amazingly accomplished man, yet the most important priority in his life over the last two decades, was to share the Gospel with the world around him. He shared his faith in Christ openly and founded "The Lighthouse" on the Eastern Shore, which supports the training and discipleship of men and women who desire to learn how to easily share their faith in Christ with others through Open Air Campaigner's WWW.OACMD.ORG . He and his family also worshipped at Berlin First Baptist Church when they travelled to the Eastern Shore. One of Franz's lifetime hobbies was HAM Radio, W3VIY, and he enjoyed talking to people all over the world. Services will be held in South Carolina and Maryland: South Carolina: Saturday morning. October 12, at 11 a.m. Services will be held at Mountain View Cemetery, located in Cherokee County on West Cherokee Street. During the service, Military Honors will be presented. Maryland: Sunday afternoon, October 20, at 4 p.m. Services will be held at the Streams of Hope Church, located at the Washington Christian Academy, 16227 Batchellor's Forest Road, in Olney. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations may be made to the outreach and training ministry Franz partnered with and loved so dearly. Please indicate your donation is in memory of Franz Williams. Open Air Campaigner's, P.O. Box D, Nazareth, PA 18064; www.OACMD.org www.COLLINSFUNERALHOME.COMwww.COLLINSFUNERALHOME.COM