Essie Mae Williams Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Essie Mae Williams was born January 26, 1931 in Grand Lake, Arkansas. She was the 4th child of Deollie and Olevia Higgins to arrive in the household. At the age of 5, Essie took the responsibility of working by watching her sister Lena age 3 while her parents worked in the cotton fields. Essie Mae was named by her brother Clarence and was an inquisitive child who wanted to see how 'things' worked. She struck a match as it burned close to her finger asked where should she put it? They decided to put in the fireplace, which was covered by a curtain that of course caught a fire. Their dad happened to be on his way home. Upon his arrival, his 2 little girls were standing on the front porch frightened to death. Their dad went into action and fought the fire with water brought to him by Essie, which Lena pumped from a county pump. Needless to say- she lost her first hon as a babysitter. The 2 little girls joined their family in the cotton fields. As the young family grew up, Essie found Christ as her Savior in the country church followed by junior high in Arkansas. She went to High School at Piney High Woods Boarding School in Mississippi. She attended Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and received a BA in Commercial Education May of 1959. She met and married Willie Manning. To this union 2 sons were born, Willie Deollie and Michael Dean Manning. Essie joined her husband as was on a tour of duty in the U.S. Army. Wanting to put her education to use, she taught Commercial Education in her hometown and later moved to Michigan where she worked as a teacher and public secretary in Inkster Public Schools. The military life was stressful on the young coupled and they agreed to disagree. Essie left the classroom to enter the Automotive Industry and worked for Ford Motor Company where she remained until retirement. She met and married Novelty Williams, to this union 2 daughters were born, Norvel Chevette and Carmen Macharm. Because Novelty & Essie were so blessed, they even adopted a teenage son, Gary Phillips. They welcomed him into their home, got him caught up in school and gave him an opportunity to thrive. Essie was always a sports fanatic and encouraged her children to play sports. Her sons played football and she was their biggest cheerleader. Novelty and Essie were entrepreneurs and wanted to make a contribution to the community by providing jobs and being black business owners. They bought the Chapel of the Chimes Funeral Home from Jimmy Digg. After Novelty retired, he wanted to run the funeral home. So he bought out his original partners and became the sole proprietor. She would often refer to Novelty as "The Sponsor" because he was such an awesome provider. After Novelty's death in 2001, Essie and Lena continued to run Chapel of the Chimes and became known as "The Sisters"! Essie always wanted to better herself and her community. With her ability to manage, she had prospered and was truly blessed. She became devoted to her church and was also very active in the Vestry at St. Clements as a Sr. Warden, Lay Reader and helpful in the Young Peoples Fellowship (YPF). She moved on to Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church and was active in several ministries, which included the Gatekeepers, Disciples In Action, and Culinary. She was also a faithful Trustee at Gethsemane. She enjoyed traveling with her family. She took multiple trips with her ability adult children globally. She taught her children to be humble, hard working children of God and still be a "Go Getter". Her work ethic was second to none. Often times she would phone each of her children to say "Everything is going along good-....even on her worst day. Some of the mantras terms she embedded in her children included: "Don't make a mistake in 5 minutes that it will take you a lifetime to overcome" "Save your pennies and the dollars will take care and form themselves" "God Bless the Child who has his OWN" "Give God his 10% and don't tip the good Lord as HE is the reason you have it to give" Our favorite, which sums up "Essie" is "Let the work that I've done speak for me." Less than a week ago, as the doctor, nurses, and her family kept vigil, Essie exchanged her busy earthly life for a Heavenly Grand Bon Voyage on May 21, 2019 from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Essie leaves to cherish and honor her memory her children, Willie Deollie, Michael Dean Manning, Norvel Chevette Williams, and Carman Macharm McCloud; her sister Lena Nichols; 5 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends giving Honor to God as Dr. John E. Duckworth faithfully leads us.

Tributes

Essie Mae Williams

January 26, 1931 - May 21, 2019