Donald Eugene Williams Jr.

 Donald Eugene Williams Jr., January 20, 1947 to September 5, 2025

Donald Eugene Williams Jr. died in Asheville on September 5, 2025 in his sleep from stomach cancer. He was 78. He had been in rehab for a year following a crisis caused when Hurricane Helene thrashed western NC.

Donald was born in Recife, Brazil, to Donald Eugene Williams and Laura Gordon Williams, Presbyterian missionaries from North Carolina. He is survived by a brother, the Rev. J. Gordon Williams of Southport NC; sisters L. Jocelyn Williams of Greenville SC, Jeani Williams Rochelle of Charlotte, and Lee Anna Williams Bryant of Manassas VA; a sister-in-law Ann Woodroof Williams; a brother-in-law John R. Bryant; and ten nephews and nieces. 

Family and friends remember a quirky,  no-nonsense personality with deep faith and tender mercy toward the weak and helpless.  In rehab, he won over roommates and staff in the midst of his pain.

Donald attended Eckerd College, St. Petersburg FL. With a nimble mind and international experience, he fixed things with his hands, kept abreast of innovations to automobiles and the sciences, and became deeply conversant with the Bible.  He served as a lay minister for healing prayer for four years in Havelock NC. He loved cars, contra dancing, swimming the backstroke, and hiking in his dad’s native North Carolina mountains.

An informal memorial service will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, Asheville, at 1 PM, Saturday, September 13, presided over by the Rev. John Rice.  

His final resting place will be in the columbarium  at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church with his parents and grandparents.  

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