Janice Williams Obituary

OAK RIDGE - Dr. Janice Southerland Williams, 89, of Oak Ridge, TN, formerly of Johnson City, TN, and Bradenton Beach, FL, died on Nov. 6, surrounded by her family, after an 18-month battle with cancer.

Born Feb. 5, 1934, Janice grew up in Lakeland, FL, the only child of the late Solon A. and Minnie Louise Southerland. Like so many children born during the Great Depression, Janice was a strong woman who rarely complained about circumstances and found the good in everyone and every situation. In childhood, she said she only had three dresses for church, school, and play, which her mother washed and ironed daily. She picked fresh oranges in the backyard and swam (sometimes with alligators!) in Lakeland's many lakes.

Janice graduated from Lakeland High School and earned a bachelor's degree in education at Florida State University. She taught elementary school in Florida, Maryland and in Tennessee.

Janice met her future husband, Walter Rollin Williams III, in the seventh grade in Lakeland. The two were married in June 1955 for 52 years, until his death in 2007. They were inseparable life partners, raising two sons in Johnson City, TN, and traveling the world together in later years. They also enjoyed square dancing, camping, and spending time at their condo in Bradenton Beach, Florida near her childhood friends.

Janice was an avid reader and loved books of true crime stories, historical fiction, and genealogy. She researched her family tree extensively and was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Education was important to the Williamses. Janice went back to school in the late 1970s and earned her master's and doctoral degrees from East Tennessee State University. She powered through coursework while teaching school full-time, raising teenagers, and even having an emergency appendectomy in the middle of her dissertation, forcing her to start all over again. But she persevered and finished in May 1981.

She retired in 1994 as an Assistant Professor at the University School, College of Education, at East Tennessee State University.

Janice loved to travel, and if anyone said, "Let's take a trip," she was the first to pack her suitcase. In their fifties, Janice and Rollin began traveling the globe together, especially Asia. In 1984-1985, Janice taught English as a visiting professor at Taiwan National University. In 1992-1993, she taught at Nanjing China Normal University. They also spent a year in Bangkok, Thailand in 1987 and took shorter trips to about fifty other countries over the years. Janice's last international trip was at the age of eighty-one to research her Southerland ancestry in Scotland. She never balked at taking a train, rickshaw, or rickety bus up a mountain in Nepal.

Janice was a member of First United Methodist Church of Johnson City, where she served as a Sunday school teacher and was active in United Methodist Women. During winters, the Williamses attended Roser Memorial Church in Bradenton Beach. After moving to Oak Ridge in 2015, she attended First United Methodist Church of Oak Ridge and Christ Community Church of Oak Ridge.

Janice was a Danforth Associate and member of Phi Kappa Phi, Kappa Delta Pi, Delta Kappa Gamma, Phi Delta Kappa, American Association of University Women, and the social fraternity Pi Beta Phi.

She is survived by her two sons, Walter Williams (Rebecca) of Oak Ridge, TN and David Williams (Lisa) of Independence, VA, five grandchildren: Ted Williams in Oak Ridge, who helped care for her in her recent years, Nicole Williams of Asheville, NC, Sarah Mills (Wesley) in Knoxville, TN, Patrick Williams in Oak Ridge, Ben Williams (Anna) in Johnson City, and four great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother-in-law, Roger Williams (Sherry) in Austin, TX, and sister-in-law, Carol Razgaitis (Richard) in St. Petersburg, FL, and many nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be held at Tetrick Funeral Services, Johnson City on Thursday, Nov. 9 at 12 p.m., with visitation starting at 11 a.m., led by the Rev. James A. Dougherty and the Rev. Wesley Mills. A livestream of the service will be provided at www.tetrickfuneralhome.com. A graveside committal service will follow at 2 p.m. in the Monte Vista Memorial Park.

In lieu of flowers donations may be sent to missions at Christ Community Church of Oak Ridge, 100 Ogden Lane, Oak Ridge, TN 37830.

Memories and condolences may be shared at www.tetrickfuneralhome.com.Tetrick Funeral Services, 3001 Peoples Street, Johnson City, TN 37604, is honored to serve the Williams family. (423) 610-7171.