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1947
Clarence
2026
Clarence Henry Williams
Mar 31, 1947 — Sep 19, 2026
Burleson, Texas
| Clarence Henry “Willie” Williams March 31, 1947 – September 19, 2026 Clarence Henry “Willie” Williams, 79, of Burleson, Texas, passed away on September 19, 2026, surrounded by the family who loved him so dearly. Willie was born March 31, 1947, in Smyth County, Virginia, to Walter and Mary Williams. The eldest of their children, Willie learned responsibility and hard work at an early age. His father, a carpenter, often worked far from home on jobs throughout Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and Willie helped care for his younger siblings. While attending school, he worked for area farmers and ranchers and at a local gas station. Willie graduated from Marion High School in Marion, Virginia, and the following Monday left to begin his service in the United States Army. A Vietnam veteran, Willie served his country as a diesel and heavy-equipment mechanic, working on Caterpillar D8 bulldozers and other excavation and road-building equipment used by Army crews in Southeast Asia. His exact rank, unit, honors and additional details of his military service will be added as the family finalizes his military records. Willie carried a profound respect for military service throughout his life, and few things made him prouder than seeing that tradition of service continued by his daughter, Jodee. He was immensely proud of her decision to enlist, of the honors she earned during her military career, and especially of her service when she was called back to duty during Iraqi Freedom. As a veteran himself, Willie understood the meaning and sacrifice behind that commitment in a way few others could, and Jodee’s service remained a tremendous source of pride for him throughout his life. Following his military service, Willie went to work for Caterpillar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was during those years that he met Diana in Bixby, Oklahoma—the woman he would lovingly call “Boopie” and adore throughout their 35 years of marriage. Willie and Diana built a life and family together, raising their two daughters, Jodee and Jennifer. He was a devoted husband who treated Diana like a queen and a father whose love was most often expressed through what he did for the people he loved. Willie could build it, grow it, repair it, plant it or find some way to make it work a little more efficiently. Whether the finished product was particularly attractive was sometimes secondary. If it worked, Willie considered the problem solved. In 1988, Willie and Diana purchased a small farm in Navarro County, Texas, which Willie affectionately named “Boopie’s Bottom" set along the Chambers Creek floodplain. The property became the perfect canvas for a man who loved being outside. Willie planted, farmed, landscaped, built, tended animals and worked tirelessly to make the land beautiful. Jodee and Will carved a trail from their home across the road to Pops and Boopie’s for many meals and “family time” (watching King of the Hill and The Simpson’s). Long before “repurposing” became fashionable, Willie rarely saw something that couldn’t have another useful life. Perhaps no example captured this better than the family’s above-ground swimming pool, which eventually began its second career as one enormous chicken house. His ingenuity extended to his daughters as well. When Jennifer needed her first car, Willie didn’t simply buy one. Starting with little more than the shell of a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle, he rebuilt it piece by piece—from the motor to the fenders—and finished it with beautiful tan upholstery and a chocolate-brown metal-flake paint job sparkling with gold. It was perfect. Jennifer managed to flip it within a year, an event that may have broken Willie’s heart more than it broke the Volkswagen. Willie loved fishing, although fatherhood often meant he spent more time baiting his daughters’ hooks than holding a fishing pole himself. He enthusiastically helped with school projects, told wonderful stories and possessed an endless ability to invent lyrics to practically any tune someone provided. You brought the melody; Willie supplied the words. Babies and animals seemed instinctively drawn to Willie. Perhaps they recognized what everyone who loved him already knew: behind the hardworking, extraordinarily tough man was an exceptionally gentle soul. He had beautiful blue eyes, a soft smile and a tenderness that required no explanation. He was also notorious for gradually acquiring his daughters’ dogs. Both Jodee and Jennifer learned that bringing a beloved pup around Pops carried a certain risk: given sufficient time, the dog might simply become his. Willie apparently considered this less a matter of ownership and more a question of where the animal had decided it belonged. The tradition continued right to the end. During one of Willie’s final days in the hospital, his granddaughter Sayer came to visit showing a video of her new puppy, Zuko. Even then, Pops was already making a case for why Zuko might be better off going home with him. Willie spent much of his working life in long-haul trucking before retiring from Allied Systems, a motor-transport company in the Dallas area. Whether working professionally or at home, Willie was happiest when his hands were busy and when there was something he could build, repair, improve or do for someone else. After Diana’s death on October 3, 2006, Willie was deeply heartbroken. For a time, he lived with Jennifer and Jeff and their children, Sam and Sayer, giving his grandchildren the special experience of having Pops woven into the rhythms of their everyday lives. Willie later met Vicki L. Evans through a support group for widowed individuals. They married and shared the final 18 years of his life together. Willie’s Christian faith was a deeply personal and important part of his life. He attended First Baptist Church of Kennedale and had a profound love for Jesus. Those closest to him will especially remember his prayers—beautiful, heartfelt conversations with the Lord he loved. His family takes great comfort in knowing that the faith Willie carried throughout this life brought him home at its end. To his family, however, Willie held an even simpler and very special title:Pops. He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Vicki L. Foreman-Evans; his daughters, Jodee Whitten and husband Steve, and Jennifer Ramey and husband Jeff; his grandchildren, Will Harris and wife Lucy, Sam Ramey and wife Kaitlynn, and Sayer Stevenson and husband Cody; and his great-grandchildren, Benjamin, Cataleya and Calliope Harris, and Emberly, Elijah and Ezryn Ramey. He is also survived by his siblings, Luther Williams, Steve Williams and Carol Johnson, along with extended family and friends who loved him. Willie was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 35 years, Diana Williams; his parents, Walter and Mary Williams; and his sister, Donna Marie Molasky. Willie’s was a life spent building, repairing, planting, providing and caring for others. He was the man who could keep the machinery running, make something useful from what others might discard, grow something from the earth and somehow find time to bait everyone else’s hook. He spent a lifetime taking care of things—and, most importantly, taking care of people. His work here is finished. And it was a job exceedingly well done. A Celebration of Life honoring Willie will be held Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Retta Baptist Church in Rendon, Texas. Family visitation will be held from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., with the Celebration of Life beginning at 3:00 p.m. Military honors will recognize Willie’s service to his country. |
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