Donald M. Williams passed away peacefully at his home in Pasadena, Monday, September 22,2014 from complications of heart disease.
He was born January 24,1937 in Houston, Texas to Elisabeth Anne Thomas and Morace Mason Williams. He graduated from Huntsville High School and attended Sam Houston State University. He was a working class intellectual who was very proud of his long Texas heritage and continued to study history, politics, and current events, especially Texas history his whole life. He joined ILA Local 1273 in 1957 from which he retired in 1997. He started as a longshoreman. He became Vice President of the local from 1985 through 1989. He was a Container Inspector from 1990 to 1995. He also served on the executive board of the AFL-CIO. His main passion however was running the family farm, an original Texas land grant of which he was extraordinarily proud.
He was preceded in death by Jessie Mae McCutcheon, his mother Elisabeth Ann Thomas and his step father, E.V. Thomas who raised him as his own son.
He is survived by his high school sweetheart and "little bride" of 57 years, Mary Annette Williams, his daughter Michelle Jackson and her husband, Don of Houston, Texas; daughter Tina Adamek and her husband Terry of Pasadena, Texas; son Michael Williams and his wife Karen of Houston, Texas; daughter Karen Vorick and her husband Tim of Kingwood; grandchildren Emily, Molly, and Abigail Jackson, Daniel, Dustin and Jesseca Adamek, Aaron and Mary Williams, and Rebecca, Timothy and Thomas Vorick.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 on September 26, 2014 at Rosewood Funeral Home, 3939 Pasadena Blvd., Pasadena, Texas 77503. In keeping with his wishes, Donald's body will be cremated. Interment of his ashes will be at the family cemetery at the farm.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's research www.michaeljfox.org/Give_To_Research