Elizabeth Madeline Williams

Montague, MA - Elizabeth (Betty) Madeline (Lonergan) Williams, 85, of Turners Falls Road in Montague, MA passed away from Dementia on September 16, 2023 at the Center for Extended Care in Amherst with her daughter, Deb, at her side.

She was born January 5, 1938 in Westfield, MA to Ellen Lonergan of Turners Falls, MA. Betty graduated from Turners Falls High School in 1955 and after graduation she worked as a telephone operator.

She married Lloyd Williams on November 9, 1957 and they started their family. They lived in Turners Falls for many years and moved to Montague Center in 1970.

Betty had 6 children and they were her whole world. Deb (Rick) Hamilton of Colrain, MA ; Gary of Montague, MA; Sherry (Danny Felton) Williams of Erving MA; Donna Gaffey of Greenfield MA; Jeffrey (Helen) of Montague MA and Jody (Bruce) Courage of Fremont NH.

She has 5 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-granddaughter.

She had a special bond to her grandson Christopher, his wife Heather and their children. Timothy, Wyatt and Layla.

Betty was a homemaker and stayed home with her children as they were growing up. Once all her children were old enough, she worked as a housekeeper at Motel 6 for many years and then went to Hillside Plastics where she worked her way up to a supervisor in the Printing Dept, (which was located in Sunderland and then moved to Turners Falls). She loved working there and became great friends with the owners at the time, Dick and Janet Haas. Betty retired at age 62. She loved giving to people. In her retirement, she would continue to bring holiday goodies to the workers at Hillside Plastic. They always looked forward to her visits.

She and her husband, Lloyd, spent many years at Forest Lake in Winchester, NH. They had a permanent camp there and spent many wonderful summers with the family - lots of cookouts and sleep overs.

Betty enjoyed making crafts and would sell at various craft fairs during the holiday season with her daughter, Sherry. She loved to go to tag sales with her best friend Ruby Blood. They would head out for the day, stop for lunch and go shopping. They were asked many times if they were sisters! Betty also loved having tag sales in her yard.

She loved watching the birds. It brought her so much joy. During her illness, she would point out every bird she saw to her many visitors! She had a bird feeder outside of her room and she would endlessly watch them. The happiness and smiles that they brought her was precious

Betty loved the outdoors and her son Gary built her a screen house in the back of her property. She would spend many afternoons just sitting in her swing either taking a nap or watching the birds. Ruby and Carl Martin (Ruby's partner) would come over to play cards up in the screen house in the evening and together they had such a wonderful time.

Elizabeth, who went by her nickname "Betty" loved anything Betty Boop. She was an ardent Betty Boop memorabilia collector. She got her first tattoo at 80 years old and of course it was a picture of Betty Boop!

She was everyone's mother. Friends would come over and she just welcomed them into her home. She had a heart of gold and loved making people happy.

Our Mom - she was the most kind, loving and caring person. She put a smile on everyone's face.

Betty was predeceased by her husband Lloyd in 1995 and her mother Ellen Crean in 2007. She also leaves many nieces and nephews and so many wonderful friends to remember her fondly.

The family would like to thank the staff of the Dharma Unit at the Center for Extended Care in Amherst who took care of mom. Especially Angel, Izzy, Denise, Mary, Marion and Keith. Her face would light up when she saw them. They treated our Mom like family with respect and love.

We would also want to thank the Hospice of the Fisher Home - Kate, Deb, Jennifer, Danielle and Craig. Your care and compassion meant so much to our family.

Funeral services for Betty will be on Friday, September 22, 2023 at 11:00AM at the graveside in Plainview Cemetery, No. Leverett, MA with Rev. Dan Johnson, pastor of the Calvary Baptist Church in Turners Falls, MA to officiate. There are no visiting hours.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Betty's memory to be made to The Hospice of the Fisher Home, 1165 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01002 or they ask that you think warmly of Betty and perform an act of kindness for someone and put a smile on their face.

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