Carol Jean Schrader "Kelly" Williams, our sweet mother, died on January 10, 2016, two weeks after celebrating her 94th birthday.
She was born in Bremerton, Washington on December 29, 1921 to Frederick John and Cecelia Flude Schrader and spent most of her childhood in Portland, Oregon. During World War II she worked at the Puget Sound Navy Yard near Bremerton. She met Lt. Dean Robert Williams at a party on the base and they spent the evening singing popular songs at the piano. They dated almost every night after that and seven months later, in April 1945, they were married in the small Navy chapel.
Kelly left her beloved Pacific Northwest behind when Dean was accepted to Harvard Business School. She worked at Coca-Cola in Boston to pay the rent on an attic apartment that had no plumbing. Every day she would carry buckets of water for cooking up from the bathroom on the floor below.
After graduation, Dean took a job in Utah where he'd been raised. Kelly spent the rest of her adult life until retirement raising her family in various homes in the Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City. Kelly was a devoted mother to her four children and worked hard to provide a clean, calm home and delicious meals. She had a curious intellect, a skillful hand, and a big smile. She never quite got used to being surrounded by the desert.
She was baptized a member of the LDS Church in 1956 and the family was sealed in the Salt Lake LDS Temple two years later. From 1987-89
Kelly and Dean were the directors of the LDS Visitors Center in Kirkland, Ohio at the Newell K. Whitney Store. After returning they spent their last twenty-five years living in the Oak Hills neighborhood of Salt Lake where they made many dear friends.
Kelly is survived by her four children and their families. Tom (Susan) Williams and children Leslie (Adam), Maren (Shawn), Christian (Jenny) and Stephanie (Eric). Holly (Evan) Schelin and children Duncan and Emma. Scott Williams and children Simon (Kimberlee), Luke, Clayton and their mother Alice. Pete Williams and children Andrew, Adam and their mother Michele. Kelly is also survived by ten great-grandchildren. Almost like family are the caregivers who spent so many loving hours with her- Diane, Chris, Whitney, Maria, Linda, and Taylor. Dr. Jason Hamula was a constant source of kind support and expert medical advice. Kelly was preceded in death by Dean, her husband of 68 years, and her sister Virginia Marie Schrader (High).
Kelly's funeral service will be held at noon on Friday January 15th at the Monument Park 17th Ward at 2795 Crestview Drive, in Salt Lake City. Friends may visit from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 14th at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East 1300 South, or at the church on Friday before the service from 10:30 until 11:45 a.m. For condolences, please visit www.LarkinCares.com.
