When I was asked to give the Eulogy for my mother-in-law, Kathryn Williams’ funeral, I was honored. I immediately asked my late husband Harry and my mother-in-law Kathryn to inspire me to write it. I then asked the Holy Spirit to give me the strength and courage to deliver it. I have had so many people ask for a copy of the Eulogy so I thought that I would share it in the hopes that it may inspire someone to follow in the great example that Kathryn left for us.
The first time that I met her was when I was 19 years old. I was teaching a middle eastern dance class and she was one of my students. She was friendly and excited to learn the dance of her cultural Lebanese background. I looked forward to seeing her every week, especially after I found out that she had 9 sons. She would visit with me after class and tell me about her big Lebanese family of 17 children. She always made sure to add that her children were all blessings from God.
There was something special about this woman. She was beautiful, charming, kind, humble, and she had a strong faith. She came each week with her friend and then one day, she did not attend class. Her friend came up to me before class and told me that her husband had taken her to Mayo Clinic because she had a heart condition that needed medical attention. I announced it to the class and asked them to join me in prayer for her.
That was the first time that I prayed for Kathryn. The eight-week dance class finished and then I didn’t see this woman again for a year and a half when I was invited to her home by her son, Harry, whom I had met about a month before. As Harry introduced us she was just as excited to see me as I was to see her.
My name is Georgette Williams, and I’m the wife of Harry Williams, Carl and Kathryn’s 5th born child. I’m sure there are many here who are far more knowledgeable about the life of my mother-in-law Kathryn, but I wanted to give you a little perspective of what I have learned about her over the years.
When Kathryn was about 6 years old, she moved to Peoria, Illinois and met a young boy named Carl. Carl thought she was a stuck-up kid from St. Louis when he first met her. He was in love with the actress Shirley Temple because she had dimples, but he realized that he couldn’t marry Shirley Temple because she was older than he was, so he set his eyes on Kathryn. After all, she had dimples too.
Carl and Kathryn worked at Couri Brothers grocery store during the war in 1943. Her job was taking care of the vegetables. Every night they would walk 6 blocks to their homes with their friends after work, and they got to know one another very well.
Carl then started working for Blue Star potato chips where he had a different delivery route every day. One day he pulled up to a drug store in Peoria and started unloading the potato chips. Kathryn was at her cousin, Liz McMurray’s house nearby. They were having a celebration party for their upcoming graduation from high school. As a part of the celebration, they burned their high school uniforms in a big concrete incinerator. This ritual was a way of saying goodbye to the rules and regulations of high school which included their uniforms. They were finally done with high school and were now on their way to freedom.
During the party, Kathryn rode her cousin’s bike down to the drug store to buy more snacks. She was surprised to see Carl there. She had not seen him for quite some time since he had graduated three years before her, and they had lost contact with one another. They talked for a while, and a couple of days later, he called her, because as he said, “she was all done chasing around with those other Lebanese boys”. She had dated many Lebanese men and she claimed that Carl was just waiting patiently for her.
On their second date, he told her that he loved her and wanted to marry her. She told him that it would be best if he never called her again because she was not going to get married for at least 6 years because she was only 17. Carl was very persistent, and he told her “I know who you are, and I know who your family is. I know everything that I need to know about you.”
A year later Kathryn went on a silent retreat with her girlfriends to St. Louis. It was there that she decided that she wanted to give herself completely to God and His service. After that trip, she told Carl that she wanted to enter the religious life to which he replied, “that life is not meant for you.” His charm and persistence won her over because they dated for about two years and at age 19, she married Carl.
Kathryn recalled that the priest who celebrated their wedding had given them a rosary and told them, “If you pray this rosary, God will bless your life”. They prayed their rosary on their wedding night and continued to do so throughout their 71 years of marriage and the priest was right, God certainly did bless their lives.
When the young couple became pregnant with their first baby, they went to tell her parents Cecilia and Harry LaHood the good news. Cecilia and Harry smiled and told them that they too had good news. They were also pregnant with their 6th child.
Cecilia and Kathryn shared the waiting period of their pregnancies. When Kathryn went into labor and was admitted into the hospital to have her baby, she saw her dad wearing a white gown that expectant fathers were required to wear. She couldn’t believe it, her mother was also in labor. Her father would check on his wife and then go check in on his daughter. Kathryn delivered her first son, Jerry, and the next day, her mother gave birth to her sister, Joy. Cecilia and Kathryn shared a hospital room for a week and recovered together. It was a memorable time for both of them.
Kathryn spent most of her time cooking, cleaning, raising her children and taking care of their needs. As her children grew up and had families of their own, Kathryn would marvel in her additional blessings. She would burst with excitement at the announcement of every new baby.
She was a very intelligent woman and kept up with current events. She had strong political and religious opinions and loved a lively discussion about what was going on in the news. She was bold and spoke what was on her mind, unwavering in her faith, and always made you feel as if what you were discussing with her was the most important thing that she had heard all day. She was a true extrovert and was rejuvenated by being with people. She was often the life of the party and would laugh a hearty laugh as she was being teased by her loved ones.
She had a relationship with each of her grandchildren. She attended baptisms, first Communions, graduations, concerts, birthday parties, showers, theatrical performances, and anything else that her grandchildren
were involved in. She knew all their names, the places where they were employed, who they were dating and where they went to school. She was proud of all of their accomplishments.
She had a loving relationship with her two sisters Mary Ann and Joy as well as her three brothers, Ed, Harry, and Dick. She loved them and their spouses and wanted to hear stories all about them, their children and grandchildren.
She had many rules about life and most of them had to do with her faith. She asked everyone to pray to the Blessed Mother and even wrote a book, “Mary, My Mother and My Queen”, about her life and her journey into her faith. She gave talks about her Catholic faith and her love for the Blessed Virgin Mary to many mothers and church groups.
During one of her speaking engagements, the women were excited because they wanted to hear the wisdom and advice that this mother of 17 children would be giving during her talk. When Kathryn started speaking, she did what she always did, she spoke about her devotion to the Blessed Mother, the apparitions, the Catholic faith and why we should all pray the rosary every day. All the women in the group started asking questions about parenting and Kathryn simply replied, “The Lord will provide”.
There are people who have built large monuments or magnificent buildings, some have come up with inventions that help others, and others have produced movies, written books, or music that will be shared for all generations. Kathryn and Carl built something even greater than all that. They spent their marriage raising children who became mothers, fathers, project managers, builders, entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, restaurant owners, investment planners, salesmen, and business owners and left an even greater legacy for all future generations. Each one of their children has been influenced by their mother as well as their father and each inherited special traits from both of their parents. Many of these traits can be found in several of their children, but these are the ones that I have observed as the primary trait from their mother.
Jerry inherited her thirst for knowledge
Mike inherited her generosity and sensitivity to people’s feelings
Mary Kay inherited her hard work ethic
Theresa inherited her love for serving her family
Harry inherited her curiosity and love of faith
Colleen inherited her nurturing heart
Cecilia inherited her ability to have empathy for others
Carl inherited her ability to be loved and known within the community
John inherited her ability to find humor within every situation
Peter inherited her hospitality and always welcomes everyone into his home
Anna Maria inherited her kind heart and love of the blessed mother
Steve inherited her love of music and singing
Rosemary inherited her ability to step forward and offer to help all those in need
Mark inherited her love of the outdoors and country living
Kathryn Mary inherited her ability to change people’s lives
Liz inherited her ability to be strong and bold and become a pillar of strength for others
Tony inherited her natural charm and kindness
Grandchildren and great grandchildren, some of you inherited her beautiful dimples, some of you inherited her faith and love of learning, and all of you inherited her love of family.
Carl, you inherited the most of all, because you were the one that she chose to spend the rest of her life with, the one she shared her hopes and dreams with, and the one she gave her heart to. You faithfully served her, just as St. Joseph served our Blessed Mother.
The first time that I prayed for Kathryn was when I heard that she had heart complications. The last time that I prayed for her was during my rosary as she took her last breath on earth.
On behalf of the whole Williams and LaHood family, I want to thank our beloved priests and servers and musicians for celebrating this Mass for her. Thank you to all of you for all your support, outpouring of love and prayers. But most of all I want to thank God for blessing all our lives with this wonderful woman that we call wife, mom, grandmother, and friend. In her book, Kathryn stated: We are living proof that trust in God, and prayer to God is rewarded. I am now reaping the harvest, as well as the satisfaction, that the long years of struggle, sacrifice, and hard work were not in vain – for we have been greatly rewarded.”
Kathryn Williams, please pray for us.
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