NAOMI EILEEN WILLIAMS
Legendary and beloved teacher and writer, Naomi Williams, 91, died peacefully in her sleep at home, April 2, 2020. Born in Williams Hill in Georgetown County, South Carolina, Naomi is survived by several nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, in addition to friends and former students who have offered heartfelt tributes to and memories of her extraordinary influence.
She developed her passions early in life: nature, animals, reading, writing, music, faith, and friendship. One niece remembers that an older Naomi became both mentor and storyteller to younger relatives. When the niece was to be married in a church without an organ, Naomi proceeded to the local funeral home to borrow an organ for a “proper wedding.” Besides a love of classical music, nature was her delight from youth. Trips to the mountains and through the countryside, mostly in pursuit of peach stands, evolved into a green thumb, spawning a lush garden wherever she lived. Her love of animals centered on her dogs, whom she considered not only good company but also intellectual partners. Skeptical friends were treated to canine renditions of the Hallelujah Chorus and the grammatical differences between lie and lay. One student recalls that her own dog knew just what time she’d be in Naomi’s class. Other teachers would reject the dog, but Naomi would say, “Go to the nearest door and let the dog in!” Puck, Ariel, Betsy, Prince Hamlet, and Phoenix were her children.
A graduate of Columbia College in South Carolina, Naomi credited her father — a farmer, store owner, and Baptist preacher — as the primary influence in her decision to teach. Her career spanned four decades of teaching literature and grammar at Langford, Westside, and Augusta Prep. Universally, former students remember their Miss Williams as hard but fair and caring, always challenging them to excel. And no one can forget her arched eyebrow, a signal of skepticism or disapproval that stopped whole classes in their tracks. Her wit, however, balanced any sternness. When an eighth grade student summoned the courage to ask if Miss Williams had ever been married, her response was both wishful and spontaneous: “Only to Shakespeare!” Another student recalls receiving from Miss Williams a paper, graded a C, and feeling dejected. In conference, Miss Williams explained, “I know what the scholars think about this piece of work. I want to know what you think.” “It was the first time I realized that my opinions and thoughts mattered as a writer,” the student remembers, an experience that inspired her own career as a teacher and writer.
A student from early in Miss Williams’s career credits her with “teaching me the king’s English and giving me an appreciation not only for language, but also for all the arts. Now, she is probably trying to teach the angels how to diagram.” A student from her final class, who cites Miss Williams as the inspiration for his becoming a college professor, says, “It is perhaps the greatest irony that words cannot say enough about a teacher who dedicated herself to words. I hope that I can become half as important in the lives of my own students.” Judy Woodruff, executive producer and anchor of the PBS News Hour, offered a summation of the memories of most of Miss Williams’s students: “How could one teacher have touched the lives of so many when we were at an impressionable age?”
Naomi never failed to ask former students — and anyone she met — what they were reading. “As much as she loved reading, though, she loved writing, creating characters, and being free to explore her own story,” relates Father Trout, Naomi’s friend and priest at St. Luke’s Anglican Church. Naomi authored and published four novels, all after her retirement from teaching, and initiated at Brandon Wilde the Literary Revels, a series of guest speakers and actors introducing studies of poetry, the history of film, and scenes from Shakespeare, to name a few. At St. Luke’s, where she was the last living founding member, she taught Sunday School classes, her energetic presentations noted for their depth of research and thoughtful discussion. A “proud, contented, and active” member of her congregation, she donated a portrait of St. Luke, to hang in the sanctuary, in honor of her father.
Friends at Brandon Wilde recall Naomi’s love of cooking and frequent evenings of good food, drink, and literary discussions in her apartment. While at Brandon Wilde, she chaired the Beebe Educational Endowment Committee, which offers gifts of up to $5000 to staff and team members to achieve their educational goals. In the newsletter, The Wilde Times, she also wrote biographies of the newest Shining Stars, employees honored for their dedicated and appreciated service.
While her professional influence and accomplishments were a hallmark of her life, Naomi held steadfast in her last days to what mattered most to her in the ordinary moments of experience: intellectual curiosity, profound faith, and fierce independence. “Nothing in her life became her like the leaving of it.” (Macbeth) Hers was a life well-lived and well-loved.
A memorial service will be scheduled and announced at a later date.