Mattie Elizabeth (Hicks) Williams

The service for Mrs. Williams will be live streamed on the Facebook Page of Fisher Memorial Funeral Parlor.

Due COVID 19 restrictions, the service will be limited to 50 persons.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matt. 11:28-30

A life well-lived!

Mattie Elizabeth Hicks Williams was the daughter of the late Betty Elizabeth Seaberry and James Lewis Hicks, born on March 19, 1935, in Harnett County, North Carolina. She departed this life on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, at Camellia Gardens after an extended illness.

Mattie was a hard-working girl who grew up on a farm. She often took over the duties of caring for her younger siblings (thirteen in total) and cooking and tending to the farm animals and crops. She churned butter, took great care of her favorite cow (Betty), and fed the chickens.

Mattie was a member of McLean Chapel Church, where she was a member of a gospel group that visited/sang at other churches in the area. She also sang in her church choir and regularly attended Sunday school and bible study.

Mattie attended McLean Elementary School in Bunnlevel, NC, and graduated with honors from Shawtown High School in 1954. She was awarded a nursing scholarship to attend North Carolina Agricultural &Technical State University.

Mattie loved being a nurse. At A&T State University, she was among the first graduating class of the Bachelors of Science Nurses (BSN) program in 1958. She was also a member of the Teloca Club (Tender Loving Care), a nurses club founded in 1953. Specializing in Pediatric Nursing, Mattie did her residency at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro, NC, and other residences in New York City and Chaple Hill, NC.

Mattie worked as a Pediatric Nursing Supervisor for UNC Memorial Hospital in Chaple Hill, NC, for 36 years before retiring in May 1995. She worked in both OBGYN and Pediatrics Labor and Delivery Emergency. She was a part of the Quad Squad and taught Lamaze for prospective parents.

Mattie married the love of her life Dr. George Henry Williams Jr. (who predeceased her in death on December 3, 2012), on August 6, 1961, after meeting him in Oxford, NC, in the early 1960s. They built a home in Durham, NC, and had two children: George Henry III and Elizabeth Ann.

Mattie was an active member at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Durham, where she taught Sunday school and faithfully served on the usher board and decorating committee for many years. She exemplified her love for God and the church in how she lived her life.

Mattie loved and cherished her family deeply. She was a wonderful cook and cooked meals for church events and the sick and shut-in on a routine basis. Her community involvement included financially supporting ministries that provided the bible, clothes, and food to needy families worldwide.

She will be greatly missed and was loved by all that know her. Her warm spirit and giving nature were inspiring, moving, and remarkable. She was an insightful woman who often gave caring advice. She was enduring by nature, gentle and kindhearted in spirit, and a generous woman who always took care of and looked after those she cared about: family, friends, and even strangers.

Mattie leaves to cherish her memory, son: George Henry Williams, III – Durham, NC, daughter: Elizabeth Simmons (Joe) – Cincinnati, OH. Grandchildren (3): Lovieree Storck (Jacob) – Columbus OH, Joe L. Simmons Jr. – Landstuhl, Germany, Janee L. Simmons – Cincinnati, OH, Siblings (4): Gus Hicks, Doris Ann Lucas (late Leon), Rosa Lee (David) Hemingway, Melba Margie (Henry) Wilson, Sister(s) Inlaw: Bernadette (late Anthony), Annette (late Clarence), Virginia (late Waymand), Phyllis (late Jimmy), Edna (late James Artis), and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and very dear friends.

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