Obituaries

Emma Williams, 92, Realtor and Volunteer

A memorial service will be held at 11AM on Saturday, September 7, at Christ Church in Greenwich.

Information from Greenwich Funeral Home
Emma Josephine Williams, 92, died peacefully on Friday, August 30, in Greenwich Hospital after a short illness. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri on August 10, 1921, the daughter of Russell Hiram Clark and Emma Rynerson Clark.

Emma Joe grew up in Kansas City with her two sisters, Nancy (Mrs. Fred L. Mills) and Jane (Mrs. Peter Brandon). She is an alumna of Barstow School in Kansas City and Wellesley College, class of '42, and also attended The Art Institute of Kansas City and the University of Colorado. While attending summer school, she met her husband, "Joe" - Joseph Lloyd Williams Jr. - in Boulder, Colorado, and they were married in 1942 in Kansas City. 

Together for 55 years until his death in 1997, Joe and Joe raised their family in Kansas City, Oklahoma City and Greenwich where they settled in 1962. They worked as realtors at Ladd and Nichols, Inc. in Greenwich.

Emma Joe dedicated herself to public service and was an active volunteer in the Greenwich Junior League, The Southern Connecticut Wellesley Club, the Art Committee of the Greenwich Library, and as a mentor to teenagers at CCI (Community Centers, Inc.)

Emma Joe, known affectionately to her family and friends as "Gigi", is remembered as a vibrant, loving, optimistic woman with an inquisitive mind, an endearing smile, and a kind word for everyone. She loved painting, gardening, music, history, and was a passionate reader and a gourmet cook.

The last of the "Clark sisters", she is lovingly remembered by her daughter Dodie Headington and husband Dan of Martha's Vineyard and Boca Grande, Florida, her son Joseph III (Joe) and wife Kirby of Greenwich, her daughter Nancy Jane Bryant and husband Curtis of Atlanta, Georgia, seven grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, her brother-in-law, Fritz Mills, and five nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 11AM on Saturday, September 7, at Christ Church, 254 East Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT, followed by a reception in the Family Room at the church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Parsonage Cottage Senior Residence, 88 Parsonage Road, Greenwich, CT 06830 or CCI (Community Centers, Inc.), 61 East Putnam Ave., Greenwich, CT 06830. 


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