In Memoriam of Ruth Webb Williams

Ruth Webb Williams, former Smyrna School District English Teacher, and beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother passed away peacefully on Saturday, June 3, at the Silver Lake Center in Dover, surrounded by family. She was 94.

Born on April 8, 1923 in Ellendale, Delaware, Williams was the only child of the late Truitt and Viva Webb. Raised in Milford, she graduated from Milford High School in 1941, and attended the University of Delaware where she graduated from the Women's College of Delaware in 1944.

Upon graduation Williams moved to Smyrna, where she served the Smyrna School District for 21 years as a high school teacher and English Department Chair. Williams began her Smyrna career at John Bassett Moore School where she taught English and was a faculty advisor to the Spy Glass publication and a director of junior class plays. While teaching, she earned her Master's Degree in Education at the University of Delaware. A long-time Delaware history enthusiast, Williams had an extensive collection of Delaware books and memorabilia which will be donated to the Smyrna Library. Her other interests included farming (and running her family farms), stamp and coin collecting, and volunteering at her church, St. Polycarp's Roman Catholic Church in Smyrna. She was also an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Century Club, the American Association of University Women, and Delta Kappa Gamma (a professional honor society of female educators). In 2009, Williams and her husband were honored at the 11th annual I Love Smyrna School District Day for being outstanding individuals who were role models of responsibility during their adult lives.

Williams was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 63 years, Charles V. Williams, former Smyrna School District Superintendent. She is survived by her two children, Karen Williams Miller, married to Kurt Miller, of Bethesda, Maryland and Lewes, Delaware; C. Kevin Williams, married to Debbie McDonald Williams, of Millsboro, Delaware; four granddaughters Kathryn Miller, Karoline Miller, Ashley Williams Roberts, married to Ron Roberts, Brittany Williams, married to Joshua Herr; and one great-grandson, Andrew Jordan (AJ) Roberts.

A viewing will be held on Friday, June 9 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home with the funeral service beginning at 12:30 p.m. A private burial will be at Milford Community Cemetery (formerly Odd Fellows Cemetery) in Milford.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the Smyrna School District Scholarship Fund at 82 Monrovia Avenue, Smyrna, Delaware 19977.

To sign the online guestbook, please click on the tab marked "sign guestbook".

Arrangements are by Matthews-Bryson Funeral Home, 123 W. Commerce Street, Smyrna, Delaware.