Deborah Dell Bartley Williams

Deborah Dell Bartley Williams

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Mrs. Debbie Williams, age 59 of Augusta, Georgia, died in Puerto Montt, Chile on Saturday, March 20, 2010 while serving her Lord with her husband and church on a mission trip. She was born in Gainesville, Florida, on February 17, 1951. She is survived by her husband, Dr. George Williams, Jr., her two children, Rev. Will Williams and Ms. Nan Williams, her mother, Mrs. Ruth Bartley, and her sister, Susan K. Miller, as well as a large extended family. She was preceded in death by her father, Dr. Ernest R. Bartley.

Mrs. Williams graduated from P. K. Yonge High School in Gainesville, Florida in 1969, the same year she was Florida’s Junior Miss. She met her future husband, George, as an undergrad at the Oxford Campus of Emory University. As a student, she worked as Youth Minister at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated from Emory University in 1973.

George and Debbie were married on August 23, 1975 at First United Methodist Church in Gainesville, Florida and settled in Augusta, Georgia. Soon thereafter, they went on their first foreign mission trip together to Ghana, Africa. This was the first of many mission trips their family would take through the Southern Baptist International Mission Board to such places as Hungary, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile.

For three years Mrs. Williams worked as Youth Minister at Trinity on the Hill United Methodist Church. She and her husband later became members of the First Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia. After many years of devoted service to their church, she and her husband were both selected to be deacons. Over the years, Mrs. Williams served her church in various capacities including chairing the Ministerial Advisory Council, acting as a member of the Building Committee and the Historical Committee, teaching Sunday School, and being an active member of the Grace Sunday School class. Some of her more creative endeavors for the church included directing several productions of “A Night on Broadway,” organizing the annual Boar’s Head Dinner, helping to assemble the church’s first cookbook, organizing the Women’s Jubilee, and redesigning the Children’s Sunday School building into the Biblical Jerusalem. She always loved working with youth and organized various youth and adult mission trips around the world that included training in drama, puppetry, clowning, and interpretive dance.

Mrs. Williams was a prominent member of the Augusta community. She served in various capacities, including teaching tap and jazz dance at the YWCA, acting as a charter member of the English Ivy Garden Club, developing a children’s activity area for the Sacred Heart Garden Festival, serving on the board of the Symphony Guild, which included chairing the Pops at the Bell Decoration Committee and acting as Guild Historian, and twice organizing the city-wide C. S. Lewis Festival, which included building a life-sized reproduction of Narnia that was visited by over 7000 people. Her efforts were recognized as exemplary by the national C. S. Lewis Foundation, which invited her to Oxford, England where she lectured on the topic of organizing C. S. Lewis Festivals. Mrs. Williams directed and choreographed countless theatrical productions and dance recitals in the community.

The ministry of greatest importance to Mrs. Williams was that to her family. She was a visible presence throughout her children’s educational activities at Episcopal Day School and Augusta Preparatory Day School. She provided invaluable support to her husband and his patients in his OB-GYN practice. Her support for her children and her husband has endured. Mrs. Williams’ visionary spirit, eye for detail, and special touches left an indelible impression on friends and family alike.

Mrs. Williams expressed her passion for creativity through many outlets such as her design company, d. williams designs. She loved a challenge and always had a project in the works, ranging from scrapbooking, crafts, and jewelry design to event planning, making a house a home, and encouraging a friend in need. With boundless energy she was driven to serve God, family, and community and will be missed dearly by the lives of those she touched. In all that she had a hand in, Mrs. Williams was defined by wanting to inspire, motivate, and initiate change in people to become more Christ-like.

A Memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia on Friday, March 26, 2010 at 11:00 am. Interment will be at Westover Memorial Park.

Memorial contributions may be made to: First Baptist Church, PO Box 14489, Augusta, Geor