Bertha M. "Teeny" Williams
(1929 - 2015)
Obituary
Bertha M. "Teeny" Williams,
85, passed away, June 19, 2015, at Bethesda Home of Goessel, Kansas.
Bertha Marie Barkman was born in Florence, Kansas, on August 2, 1929,
to William Scott and Bertha Agnes (Thomas) Barkman. She was youngest
of five children. She was nicknamed "Teeny", which she went
by all of her life. On September 9, 1946, she married Paul Eugene
Hunt. To this union one daughter, Barbara, was born. Paul died of
lung cancer in 1963. Teeny then enrolled in Vernon's School of
Cosmetology. After graduating, she opened a beauty shop in her home.
She was united in marriage to Boice "Pete" Williams on
December 31, 1964. Teeny was very active in community work. She
spear-headed many projects that helped the city of Florence. She
collected funds to buy new flags for Main Street and sponsored fund
raisers for the Fire Department and Ambulance Department. While
serving on the City Council, she became interested in upgrading the
cemetery. With help of Bob Gayle, they plotted and mapped the entire
116 year old burial ground. Fire had destroyed what records the city
had years before. Making a new set of records was challenging. When
she finished, she felt she had paid her debt to society. In 1988,
Pete's work made it necessary for them to move to Newton. Giving up
her beauty shop and leaving her friends was not easy. They lived in
Newton for 11 years and then purchased a home on the Marion County
Lake. After Pete's retirement in 2002, they have spent their time
wisely – traveling and fishing! She was preceded in death by her
first husband, Paul Hunt; and a granddaughter Tina Marie Hicks. Teeny
is survived by her husband Pete of Marion; her daughter Barbara
"Bobbie" Hill and her husband Robert of Stanford, Montana;
2 granddaughters: Terri Hicks Dorendorf of Billings, Montana; and
Traci Hill Schmitt of Great Falls, Montana; and 2
great-granddaughters: Samantha Dorendorf and Kirsten Dorendorf. A
Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, June 24,
2015, at the Christian Church of Florence. Inurnment will be in the
Hillcrest Cemetery. A Memorial Fund has been established for the
Hillcrest Cemetery in care of Zeiner Funeral Home, 205 Elm, Marion,
KS, 66861.
Published in The Kansan on June 23,
2015
