Lila Cay Williams Critz

1935 - 2025

Lila Cay Williams Critz passed away peacefully on January 18, 2025. Born on September 12, 1935 in Tallahassee, Florida, she was the beloved daughter of Lila Cochran Williams and Dr. John L Williams. Lila graduated from Leon High School in Tallahassee where she was fondly called "Tut". She then attended Duke University where she earned a B.A. in History and was a proud member of Pi Beta Phi sorority.

While at Duke Lila met her future husband, Dale C. Critz. The two were married in her hometown of Tallahassee on March 9, 1957. Shortly after, they moved to Savannah where Dale joined his family's automobile business and immediately told her that in Savannah she would not be referred to as "Tut".

Lila quickly became an integral part of the Savannah community, devoting herself to a variety of civic and cultural organizations. She was an active member of the Junior League of Savannah, serving as president in 1967. Her passion for the arts and historic preservation led her to serve on the board of the Telfair Academy, presiding as president from 1977 to 1981. During her tenure she led the museum through a period of tremendous growth, securing a $1 million grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and overseeing its first accreditation. She also helped launch the inaugural Telfair Ball. She was later recognized as an Honorary Trustee for her long service and support of the Telfair Museums.

Lila and Dale were committed to preserving the city's heritage and together restored three historic homes in the Landmark District, the first of which was on Jones Street in 1968. She was an active volunteer for Historic Savannah Foundation and co-chaired the capital campaign for Senior Citizens, Inc. in 2018. She and Dale were later honored with the 'Life Well Lived' award from Senior Citizens in 2020, recognizing their dedication to the Savannah community. A woman of strong faith, Lila was also a dedicated communicant of Christ Church Episcopal for over 50 years.

Lila and Dale were married for 66 years until his passing in 2023. Their partnership extended beyond family and business to an adventurous sporting life. In the 1980's, Lila caught numerous Giant Black Marlin off the Great Barrier Reef-including a 970-pound catch in 1981-and reeled in hundreds of sailfish off Palm Beach and Mexico. As an accomplished hunter, she chased partridge and sharptails in Montana and shot grouse in Scotland as well as partridge and pheasant in England, Spain, and Hungary. Above all, just like Dale, she most loved returning to the low country to shoot quail. After an afternoon shoot at Cheeha Combahee, she often remarked, "I got my birds, and if your father would have shot better, we would have had a respectable bag."

In addition to their time in the field, Lila and Dale cherished their canine companions. Their first sporting dog was a Boykin Spaniel named Lucy Brown. Later they decided they needed pointing dogs and managed to sweet-talk the renowned bird hunter and author, Ben O. Williams, into giving them a brace of his famous Brittany Spaniels, which they named Winnie and Gussie. Winnie and Gussie were followed by another Brittany, Raz, and another Boykin, Jesse. Lila and Dale could often be found walking Raz and Jessie through Bonaventure Cemetery or Forest City Gun Club.

Lila was incredibly proud of her family and leaves behind her son, Dale Clements Critz Jr. and his wife, Debra Wagner Critz; her daughter, Lila Cay Critz; her four grandchildren, Taylor Critz Howard (Joseph Henry), Dale Clements Critz III (Helen Hagood Coxe), Laura Cay Critz, John Burton Critz; and her great-grandchild, Katherine Riley Howard. She is also survived by her older brother, Dr. John L Williams Jr. (Linda Munroe Williams), her younger sister, Lulie Williams (William Douglas "Bud" Rice) and her three nephews, Lindsay, Gramling and Collis Williams.

The family expresses their gratitude to her incredible caregivers, Katie Aiken, Sonia Green, Janice Oglestree, Alethia Lowery, and Wanda Ward for their support and care.

The funeral service will be held on Friday, January 24, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Christ Church Episcopal, with a reception immediately following at The Oglethorpe Club. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Telfair Museums 207 W. York St., Savannah, GA 31401, Senior Citizens Inc. 3025 Bull St. Savannah, Ga. 31405, or Christ Church Episcopal 28 Bull St. Savannah, GA 31401.