Chris Williams

A memorial service for Chris Williams, age 68, of Milford, will be held Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at 1:30PM at Faith Community Church in Milford. Visitation will be on Monday, December 16 from 4:00-6:00PM at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Milford.

Memorials may be sent to the National Parks Conservation Association, Planned Parenthood North Central States, Iowa Public Television, or the Humane Society of Northwest Iowa.

Christy Ann Williams died unexpectedly at the age of 68 on Thursday evening at her home in Milford, Iowa. Chris was born on May 16, 1951 to Robert and Jeanne Hagberg in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating from Iowa State University, Chris married Wendell Noel Williams on February 23, 1974. They moved to Milford, where they raised their family and Chris worked as a library media specialist for the Okoboji Community School District for twenty-plus years.

No matter a student's skills or interests, Chris welcomed everyone. Chris’s passion for literature and learning helped encourage students and colleagues alike to freely dream, imagine, and pursue their passions all the while nurturing critical thinkers, enthusiastic readers, and skillful researchers.

In addition to education, one of the most important things in Chris’s life was gardening, and she took great pride in her flowers. Gardeners are special people. It takes work, patience, perseverance, and a love for living things for a garden to flourish. Gardening can be hard, but there is something that gardeners know and experience that others sometimes do not. There is splendor and fulfillment in seeing the result of our labor grow and come to fruition.

Chris tended relationships with the same care and commitment as she tended her gardens, as evidenced by the countless friends and family who loved  her dearly.

Chris is survived by her three children, Jennifer (spouse Lisa), Emily (spouse Andrew) and Ryan; her granddaughter, Brynn; and her dog, Scooter. Chris was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Wendell.