Marion (Cowgill) Williams

In her one hundredth year Marion Williams, born in Madison, Wisconsin, passed peacefully in Southwest Michigan.

On her family's farm in Petoskey, Michigan, where she was raised, her duties included bringing the cows home, peeling potatoes, picking berries, and tending to her vegetable garden. At 10 she drove a team of horses for haying. Every day she walked 2-1/2 miles to a one-room school, 5 miles round-trip.  At 16 she was driving a stick-shift pickup truck and she continued driving til she was 93. At different times she drove trucks, semi-trailers, and school buses. During World War II she worked for the armed services where she drove military vehicles across the United States.

She married Richard in Detroit, Michigan and they had two sons, Charles and Gary.  After Richard Williams retired from Michigan Bell Telephone Co. the couple moved to Palm Harbor, Florida, where she lived 35 years.

A devoted reader, her most memorable book as a teen was "Gone With the Wind". She continued reading avidly her entire life and even in her final years still read well over a dozen books a year.

Marion is survived by her son Chuck and daughter-in-law Debby, her two grand-daughters, by Gary, Caroline and Justine, and many nieces, nephews, and their descendants.

Remember her by gifting to her favorite library system. Write your check to Van Buren District Library, 200 N. Phelps St., Decatur, MI 49045, with a note/memo of "Donation"