Jean Hay Williams

Jean Patricia Hay Williams, 90, Kingsport, died on Saturday (February 15, 2014) at Holston Valley Medical Center.

Born January 27, 1924, in Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, she spent her early life in Brownsville Junction, Maine. Her family moved to Spencer, NC, where she graduated from Spencer High School in 1940. She was a 1944 graduate of Catawba College in Salisbury, NC.
She moved to Kingsport to work at Tennessee Eastman Company, where she met her future husband, Ezra Holmes Williams. They were married September 30, 1950. In September of 1951 she became a naturalized citizen of the United States of America.

Mrs. Williams enjoyed working with children and served as a kindergarten teacher at Waverly Road Presbyterian Church. She worked for a number of years in Kingsport City Schools as an instructional assistant, retiring in 1987.

She was a member of Waverly Road Presbyterian Church, where she served as a deacon and elder. In addition, she taught Sunday school and participated in a number of the church's activities.

Mrs. Williams was preceded in death by her parents, James Loudon Hay and Viola Crowe Hay; and sister, Evelyn Hay Culton.

Survivors include her husband of 63 years, Ezra Holmes Williams; daughter, Barbara Williams Sanders and husband Warren of Kingsport; son, Thomas Hay Williams and wife Karen of Alpharetta, GA; sisters, Margaret McKenzie of Greensboro, NC, Ruth McNabb of Kingsport, and Cathryn Vance and husband Wilford of Charlotte, NC; brother, James H. Hay and wife Shirley of Winston Salem, NC; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (February 22nd) at Waverly Road Presbyterian Church. A memorial service will follow with The Rev. Dr. Daniel S. Clark officiating. An inurnment service will take place in the church columbarium following the memorial service.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Waverly Road Presbyterian Church, 1415 Waverly Rd., Kingsport, TN 37664 or to Holston Presbytery Camp and Retreat Center, 6993 Hickory Nut Gap Rd, Banner Elk, NC 28604.