For nearly 50 years, Lucy Williams dedicated herself to the young children of poor families residing just south of downtown Atlanta.
As a volunteer and later director of Fellowship Mission on Kelly Street, Mrs. Williams helped prepare youngsters 2 to 5 for school before there was “pre-school.” She taught the little ones manners, hygiene, good eating habits and social skills. And given the support of several Protestant churches, she taught beginner lessons in Christianity.
Lucile Roof Williams, 89, died Thursday at her Atlanta residence of circulatory disease. Her memorial service is 3 p.m. Sunday at Wieuca Road Baptist Church Chapel. H.M. Patterson & Son Oglethorpe Hill is in charge of arrangements.
“Soon after our parents moved to Atlanta in 1958, Mom began volunteer duty at the Grady Hospital’s emergency room,” said her daughter, Susan Anthony of Loganville. “In the process, Mom developed an abiding interest in the families living near the hospital.”
Four years later, Mrs. Williams joined with 17 other women in founding Fellowship Mission, which focused on meeting the needs of disadvantaged children in Summerhill and Grant Park. For Mrs. Williams, the commitment meant a long drive five days per week from her home near Lenox Square to the Southside mission.
“Mom also got involved with the children’s parents,” said Mrs. Anthony, adding that Mrs. Williams helped them find jobs, drove them to doctor appointments, and drove mothers and their newborns home from the hospital.
Denise de La Rue, an Atlanta attorney and a longtime mission volunteer, said Mrs. Williams’ love for the children she served and their families knew no bounds, adding, “Lucy just gave and gave and gave.”
The mission’s school hours ran from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. “Lucy was always there ahead of time to make preparations for the kids’ daily routines, even squeezing toothpaste on their toothbrushes,” Ms. de La Rue said.
In the afternoons, Mrs. Williams often visited the children’s parents, giving them advice and contact information for necessities. If there was a death in the parents’ families, Mrs. Williams attended the funerals.
Mrs. Williams also arranged nighttime gatherings once a month to stay in touch with the mission’s “graduates,” who had moved on to grade school and beyond. They were called Teen Nights, even though invitees ranged from 5 to 18. These were occasions to mark the birthdays of boys and girls born that particular month with parties they might not have had otherwise.
During summers, Mrs. Williams ran an eight-week vacation Bible school, with eight churches handling the program for one week apiece. And for years, the mission put on pageants before Christmas.
Denise Nelson of Covington said she began serving at the mission 21 years ago and was so inspired by the way Mrs. Williams showered love and attention on the mission’s young attendees that she has been a volunteer ever since and more recently a mission board member.
“Lucy touched the lives of so many people. Parents and children alike simply thought of her as a member of their families,” she said.
Mrs. Williams' husband of 61 years, Earl W. Williams, died in 2005. Survivors included sons Richard C. Williams of Louisville, Ky., and Robert Williams of Marietta; a sister, Polly Johnson of Anderson, S.C., and four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
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