Michael Lewis Williams

Michael Lewis Williams passed away unexpectedly at the age of 66 on December 3, 2024. He was born on October 21, 1958, to Merritt and Carol Williams in Warm Springs, Georgia. He is survived by his wife, Wendy, and two children, Carter (24) and Avery (22) as well as his mother, Carol Williams Ballard (Joe), brothers David Williams(Beth) & Mark Ballard (Jenn), and sister Joy Crouse (Steve), along with several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his father Merritt Williams. In 1964, Mike and his family moved to Meridian, Mississippi where he later attended Meridian High School and graduated in 1976. Following his graduation, his family moved to Memphis, TN where he spent two years at Memphis State before attending State Tech and earning his associates degree. At Memphis, he was involved in the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity where he was known by his friends as "Moose." He cherished these friendships for the rest of his life, always texting one another about Tiger and Grizzlies games. In 1996, he married his beautiful bride, Wendy, and they were just a few days short of celebrating their 28th wedding anniversary on Saturday, December 7th. He had a multitude of neat jobs before landing at Reynolds, Bone & Griesbeck as an IT Specialist for 28 years. Mike loved his children very much and demonstrated it when the children were younger as a dedicated Scout leader for many years. Mike's dedication, leadership, kind spirit and love for a good corny joke made him a great Scout leader. He also invited the entire family to join field trips and campouts, so everyone was included. This inspired both children to graduate from the scouting program with Carter's Eagle Award in Boy Scouts and Avery's Gold Award in Girl Scouts - clearly two of Mike's proudest moments. Outside of scouts, he thoroughly enjoyed family and friends camping trips, where he'd cook the best camp food, and build the strongest fires. Avery accredits her father for getting her interested in sports, taking her to Tiger and Grizzlies games, where she is now pursuing a career in the sports industry. Mike was also a great chef; he loved cooking new recipes and making up his own meals with all his favorite foods. His best friend was his dog, Cocoa, who passed away in July of this year. The past few years Mike took up fishing and drone piloting as hobbies, while doing media conversions and making slideshows for folks in the greater Memphis area. He was able to bring back memories for families through these pieces of history, and he loved seeing the look on their faces when he showed them their final products. Mike will be greatly missed by so many. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the American Heart Association. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, December 14th from 2 pm- 4pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home on Poplar in the Event Room.