Lois Williams

Lois Ann Nelson Williams, 76, of Houston, TX, passed away suddenly on January 18, 2024. She was born in Mountain City, TN on June 7, 1947. Lois graduated from Johnson County High School and received a degree from Sneed Business College in Bristol, TN. Shortly thereafter she moved to Washington, DC and eventually married Michael Williams on July 2, 1971. The two of them adventured across the country with his career in the Coast Guard. She was passionate about being a mother to Michelle and earned her nickname of “Mama Lois” first with her volunteer work as a Girl Scout Leader, Red Cross volunteer, and cheerful mainstay at Heritage Hall and the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics all in Oklahoma City. Lois enjoyed working at Southwest Airlines as a Reservation Agent at the Oklahoma City center. There she found her true calling working with the International Association of Machinists and Automobile Workers first as a shop steward and later as President of Local 2909 and Vice President of Local 850. She also loved her work with the AFL-CIO, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the Oklahoma Retirees Association.

Lois was preceded in death by her husband Michael Williams; her parents John King Nelson, Jr. and Ella Rose; and her brothers Glenn Nelson and John King Nelson III. She is survived by her daughter Michelle Williams Phillips and granddaughter Ella Phillips of Houston, TX; her brother Tommy Nelson and wife Janie of Mountain City, TN and sister Tracie Arnold and husband David of Blountville, TN. She also leaves behind many special family members and friends across the country.

Her visitation will be held from 4:00-8:00pm Tuesday, January 23rd at Memorial Park Funeral Home and funeral services will be held 2:00pm Wednesday, January 24. 2024 at Baggerley Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family would love donations made in Lois’s name to one of the causes that was meaningful in her life – Girl Scouts https://www.gssjc.org/en/support-us/donate-locally.html; women being politically active https://womenspublicleadership.net/donate; or Guide Dogs of America https://give.guidedogsofamerica.org/give/551762/#!/donation/checkout.