Elizabeth Williams Had a Ministry of Kindness, Dec. 20, 2020

Mrs. Elizabeth Williams is pictured.


 
Funeral services for Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, a Faith Temple member, were held at 3 o’clock Wednesday afternoon at Faith Temple. Burial followed in Mountain View Memorial Park.
 
A small crowd gathered during the 2-3 o’clock greeting time. Some church members attending the service recalled that Mrs. Elizabeth sat, not long ago, on the second pew in the middle-section of the sanctuary on Sunday mornings. Mr. Larry Witham, her grandson, faithfully escorted Mrs. Elizabeth to church.
 
Pastor Raymond D. Burrows asked attendees to stand as Mrs. Elizabeth’s family entered and the service began.
 
Mr. Timothy Burrows sang “Go Rest High on that Mountain,” written by Vince Gill. Tim’s powerful voice intoned these lyrics: “Oh, how we cried the day you left us. We gathered ’round your grave to grieve. Wish I could see the angels faces when they hear your sweet voice sing. Go rest high on that mountain … your work on earth is done. Go to heaven a-shoutin’. Love for the Father and the Son.”
 
Mr. Steven Witham, Mrs. Elizabeth’s oldest grandson, spoke, telling of a motorcycle accident he experienced in 2002.
 
“She was there every weekday,” he said, recalling his long hospital stay and how he’d return from physical therapy to find his grandmother reading the newspaper and waiting for him. “Nanny would push me all over the hospital. She’d say, ‘We’ve got to go to therapy, not you’ve got to go to therapy.” One day, he told her he felt able to help move the wheelchair by himself. “She cried,” he said. “Six to seven months, giving up her days to help me.”
 
He stayed at her house while recuperating.
 
“I would sleep on her couch and wake up with a blanket on me,” he said. His grandmother would cover him, though the house was already warm enough.
 
Mr. Tim Burrows and Mr. Joe Trusty sang “How Beautiful Heaven Must Be.”
 
Pastor Burrows delivered the eulogy, calling Mrs. Elizabeth, born in 1928, “a dear and precious lady.” While she was living, he told her, “You have a ministry of kindness, distributed everywhere you go. It flows out of your being, your spirit.”
 
“I love my church,” Mrs. Elizabeth had told him. “I don’t know why the Lord let me live so long.” He told her she had a ministry to do. “I hope I’m doing it,” she said.
 
He remarked, “Paul said to be kind to one another and added ‘tenderhearted.’ Mrs. Elizabeth was probably born with a disposition toward kindness, and her conversion added to that. She had this ministry and did it well. She never treated me any way other than with a ministry of kindness. When you are kind, there is never a need to apologize. She was maybe five feet tall, but she can stand shoulder to shoulder with Paul. One of the best ways to honor her is to carry her ministry forward.”
 
Ms. Elizabeth lived through the Depression era and World War II.
 
“That made solid people out of them,” Pastor Burrows said about her generation. “Live for the Lord like this dear lady … a life that portrayed Christ. She’d want somebody else to pick up the mantel How many of us are willing to pick up the challenge of Mrs. Williams’ life?”
 
He thanked Ms. Sandra Withham for taking care of her mother and quoted from 1 Corinthians 13: “Charity (love) is kind.”
 
Tim Burrows and Joe Trusty sang “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?”
 
Pastor Burrows closed in prayer: “We will anticipate seeing her again. Lord, minister to the family. Let them draw comfort from one another. Lord, we appreciate so much Mrs. Elizabeth. This prayer is offered in Jesus’ name.”
 
The Greenville News provided this obituary:
 
“Mrs. Elizabeth Pittman Williams (Nanny Mama), 92, of Travelers Rest, wife of the late Ralph Williams, passed away on Sunday, December 20, 2020.
 
“Born in Greenville County, she was a daughter of the late A. B. and Nettie Smith Pittman. Mrs. Williams was retired from K-Mart as a supervisor and was a member of Faith Temple Church.
 
“Surviving is her daughter, Sandra Witham; a son-in-law: Stan Hopkins, four grandchildren: Ray Steven Witham, Larry Witham, Scott Witham (Kathy) and Cade Hopkins (Sara); nine great grandchildren: Paige Myers (Chuck), Justin Witham (Madison), Hope Witham, Jackson Witham, Grayson Witham (Shelby), Grant Witham, Libby Hopkins, Avery Hopkins, and Bailey Hopkins; and four loving great great grandchildren: Macy Witham, Eric Witham, Teagan Witham and Levi Witham.
“In addition to her husband and parents, she is predeceased by a daughter: Linda W. Hopkins; a son-in-law: Ray E. Witham; a brother, James Pittman and two sisters, Mildred Jackson and Doris Sears.
 
“Memorials may be made to Faith Temple Church, 5058 Sandy Flat Rd., Taylors, SC 29687.”

 

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