Charles Lester Williams

Charles Lester Williams LUBBOCK-Charles Lester Williams, 84, of Tokio, Texas passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2013, after a brief period of poor health. Charles was born on July 11, 1928 to the late P.M. Matt and Lillian Long Williams in Tokio, Yoakum County, Texas. Charles is survived by three children, Shelley Fillipp and husband Steve of Lubbock, Matt Williams and wife Ginger of The Woodlands, and Kirk Williams and wife Shawn of San Antonio. He is also survived by a sister, Bobbie Jean Rogers of Richardson. He is survived by 10 grandchildren: Paige Deegan and husband Robert of Austin, Meredith Watson and husband Trey of Carrolton, Amy Fillipp of Denton, 1st Lt. Hunter Williams at FOB Sharana, Afghanistan, Dillon Williams of Austin, Shelby and Colleen Williams of Lubbock, and Shane, Paul and Steven Williams, all of San Antonio. He is also survived by two great grandchildren, Daniel Watson and Theo Deegan. Charles was born to an early pioneer family of Yoakum County and grew up on the Williams Ranch. He was at home on horseback and loved old ranch pickups. It seemed as if he could fix or build anything mechanical. After graduating from Plains High School in 1948 he worked on his dad's ranch and spent time in Arizona, Wyoming and New Mexico as a cowboy. Pictures of a thin young man in hats and boots, a smile on his face, suggest he enjoyed these adventures. He later served in the U.S Army with the 2nd Armored Division. After the service he returned to Yoakum County and married Mary Dale Stinson; they had three children though they later divorced. The ups and downs of farming and ranching in Texas in the 1950s and 60's made these years challenging, but he made many good memories with his family. He also struggled with mental illness; the serious and sporadic nature of this illness caused continuing challenges throughout the remainder of his life. He lived the last decades of his life independently on the Williams Ranch in the house that was built by his father. Memorials to Charles can be made to National Alliance on Mental Illness. Charles's remains will be cremated and a private family memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2013, followed by a reception at Plains United Methodist Church.