MaryElizabeth Williams Obituary

Williams, MaryElizabeth GUILDERLAND MaryElizabeth Williams of Guilderland died Saturday, September 22, 2007 at Our Lady of Mercy Life Center after a brief but difficult struggle with cancer. Mary-Elizabeth was the only child of Robert W. and Sarah Elizabeth Jones of Sauquoit, Oneida County. She was always proud of her Welsh heritage which was a foundation of her religious faith and her lifelong devotion to music. She began the study of piano and organ at an early age with well known teachers in Utica. When she was just thirteen years old, she was appointed as a full-time church organist, an accomplishment which was described in the New York Times. Throughout her youth she performed and participated as a pianist in events and competitions such as the annual Welsh Eisteddfod in Utica. Following her graduation from Sauquoit Valley Central High School and the Crane School of Music at State University College at Potsdam, she taught music in the public school of Utica while also serving as organist at Westminister Presbyterian Church in Utica. In 1952, she married Henry G. Williams and moved to Syracuse where she continued her education at Syracuse University. She was awarded the Master of Music degree with a major in organ. She continued as a teacher of music in the public schools of Syracuse and as an organist at several churches. Among her accomplishments, and as evidence of her personality and creativity, she successfully introduced contemporary pop music in working with a youth choir in a suburban church while at the same time bringing classical music to an inner city church. When she moved with her family to Guilderland in 1969 she suspended her teaching and most of her organ activities in order to devote her full attention to the needs of her husband, daughter and son. After her children went to distant places to attend college, she decided to return to work. Initially, she accepted a job as a Welcome Wagon lady. It is a tribute to her tenacity that she worked diligently in that role, often driving alone in remote areas of the region in all kinds of weather. Later, she progressed through positions in the NYS Department of Social Services where she served for more than twenty years until her retirement in 1995. In Albany, she and her family were member of The First Church in Albany where she served on numerous committees and as Senior Elder. Later, she and her family joined Westminister Presbyterian Church where she served as a member of other boards and committees. MaryElizabeth found joy in many ways and places. She delighted in meeting previously unmet relatives in Scotland, in huddling with her husband in late October at their favorite rocky spots on the Maine Coast, and in hearing a well-performed concert. She took great pleasure in lunching, phoning and exchanging cards with her friends. She enjoyed painting, watching Yankee baseball and knitting baby blankets for each of her grandchildren. Without a doubt, her primary interest was her family. She delighted in spending hours in selecting Christmas and birthday gifts, in arranging memorable special occasion feasts and in doing other things that she thought her family would enjoy. For example, for several years she composed unique and pertinent poems, many of which she wrote on the brown bags that contained her children's school lunches. MaryElizabeth is survived by her husband Henry G. Williams whom she married in 1952; her daughter Sarah Christine and her husband Robert J. Bojdak and their daughters Elizabeth Jo-Li and Christina Li-An who reside in Clarence, N.Y.; and her son, Mark Andrew and his wife Kimberly Ann and their daughters Olivia Katherine and Anna Christine who live in Guilderland. She is also survived by her dear cousin, Eleanor Stephenson of Waterville, N.Y., with whom she has maintained an affectionate and sisterly relationship. She also has a nephew, David J. Williams, who visited her almost daily during her illness, of Ballston Spa; and a niece, Greschen Cvetkovic of New Hartford. During MaryElizabeth's illness she was cared for by many skilled, dedicated and compassionate people at St. Peter's Hospital, Our Lady of Mercy Life Center and the Western Turnpike Rescue Squad. Her family gratefully acknowledges the important roles these people had in helping to make MaryElizabeth's hospitalization as comfortable as medical science would permit. Friends are invited to attend a Service of Remembrance at Westminister Presbyterian Church, 262 State St., Albany on Saturday, September 29, 2007 at 11 a.m. Calling hours are 5-8 p.m. Thursday, September 27, 2007 at the Tebbutt Funeral Home, 633 Central Ave., Albany. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), 1650 South Ave., Rochester, NY 14630, Westminister Presbyterian Church, 85 Chestnut St., Albany, NY 12210 or The First Church in Albany, 110 N. Pearl St., Albany, NY 12207.