Margaret Jeanette Woodham (Deese) Williams

Margaret Jeanette (Deese) Woodham Williams, a former resident of Ozark, passed away in Flowers Hospital in Dothan on Friday, February 19, 2021. She was 89. She passed away peacefully surrounded by her family.

A viewing will be held at Sunset Memorial Park on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. In consideration of the public's health and safety due to COVID-19, the family will not be present at the viewing and a private family graveside service will be held at Chalkhead Baptist Church with Rev. Michael Woodham officiating.

Flowers will be accepted, or donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association, https://www.diabetes.org/donate/donate-memorial.

Jeanette was born to Early F. and Maude Deese in Ozark on April 25,1931 and grew up in Ozark, Alabama. She is one of four children and was raised on the family farm. She married James Olen Woodham and they had four children together.

Jeanette was a longstanding member of Chalkhead Baptist Church and an active member in the community all her life. She loved gardening, attending to her roses and other flowers. She enjoyed cooking for her family, baking and particularly known for her famous coconut cake. She always looked forward to family gatherings, visits with her children and sharing the holidays with them. After retiring from the Alabama Aviation College her passion for travel took her across the United States and beyond.

Jeanette joins in heaven, her parents, Early F. and Maude Deese; husbands, James Woodham and Doyle Williams; her siblings, Mable Hillestad, Milton and sister-in-law, Helen Deese, Syble Woodham; and her great granddaughter, Mila Leighanna Oswalt.

Jeanette is survived by her children, Wayne (Jan) Woodham of Ozark, AL, Gail (Bill) Mintz of Birmingham, AL, Janice (Allen) Keetch of Tampa, FL and Reggie Woodham of Miami, FL; her grandchildren, Samantha (Enrique) Valenzuela, Ryan (Brandy) Rhoades, and Jessica (Jeremy) Oswalt; her great grandchildren, Julia Grace Sellers, Carlin Sellers, Victor Valenzuela, Megan Griswold, Kaden Griswold, Emilee Griswold, Wayne Rhoades, Hadley Rhoades, Garrett Oswalt and Aidan Oswalt; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Serving as active pallbearers will be Ryan Rhoades, Kaden Griswold, Steve Maund, Robert Dyson, Enrique Valenzuela, and Romano Spinelli; honorary pallbearers, Allen Keetch and Bill Mintz.

Eulogy given by Janice Keetch on 2-25-2021

My Mother was a character, always understated but for those of you that knew her she was actually larger than life.

She made friends easily, many were lifelong. She was hard-working, always dedicated to the family and loved deeply.

She was one of the most determined people I know, rarely did she ever give up. How many times did you hear Mother say "there is more than one way to skin a cat. " And when necessary she would demonstrate just how many ways there were!

One example comes particularly to mind. On being denied benefits when her late husband Doyle passed away and after being told, it was a hopeless case; Mother remained adamant that she was entitled to those benefits. She continued to pursue those benefits relentlessly. And Sure enough after several years and after her petition had reached state level she prevailed.

Mother had the luck of the Irish along with the Irish green eyes. She was the one person I knew who could hit the jackpot on the slot machines and seemingly every time she played. The dishwasher was won in a ra�e, she would always win the cake walk at the nursing home and regularly bingo. She would yell out Bingo and just laugh. Her winning spirit, to me, was infectious and she inspired me to strive to win and always do my very best while always looking at the glass as half full.

Mother loved to sing and enjoyed singing the gospel hymns at church. Later in her life we would sing on the phone together and she always participate in the singing activities at Westside Terrace, which she found to be a great comfort.

She was a master of the one liners and had a great sense of humor. She didn't tell jokes, but boy did she have some great sayings that would o�er wisdom, support, or simply just put everything into context and give you perspective. And she could make me laugh like no one else.

Mother's immaculate dress sense was well-known. She always went the extra mile to look a million dollars when she entertained at home or went visiting.

Hand-in-hand with mothers passion for dressing up was her passion for shopping. Often her driving exploits would take her to the local shops, the shopping mall or the commissary. The examples of Mother's shopping prowess are numerous; outfits fill up every closet in the house and the five year supply of Kleenex tissues has only just been finished up. When mother was passionate about something she went for it. And it was not long before she found the shopping channel on TV. Thank goodness she didn't find Amazon.

We came to learn that Mother's determination was not always such a good thing. Let me explain:

When Mother and Daddy met, Daddy drove a convertible car and they would drive everywhere; she thought this was the most wonderful thing. Not many people had convertible cars in those days so for her it was really special.

Little did we know this would start her passion for cars and her desire for independence She loved to know what kind of car you had, including the make and what color it was. She would drive to town most days and she was known to change her cars like most people change their shoes. Every ten thousand miles she would be angling to change the car.

She loved the independence her car gave her. However in her later years we got concerned for her safety (and the safety of others) and on advise of the doctor we endeavored to persuade not to drive. We did persuade her to let us have the keys to the vehicle and promised to get her a driver. She was understandably less than thrilled but begrudgingly relinquished the keys.

Mother however was soon spotted back behind the wheel. It turns out that Mother had phoned the car dealer given them the cars Vin number and obtained not one new set of keys, but three.

Mother was special. She not only lived a wonderful life, on her terms, but always overcame the seemingly disproportionate number of obstacles that

came her way, and always did so with such grace. We lost our dad when she was just 42, our house caught on fire and on Dads passing she had to overcome financial hardship. Through all this she still managed to put her four children through school and give each of us the things needed to live happy and successful lives.

I am going to miss Mother more than I can ever express. I have as you can tell from some of my recollections so many wonderful memories of her and our time together which will be with me forever. Mother left a rich Legacy which will live on through her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and the many people who's lives she touched.

I am grateful for all the life lessons shared, and the instilled value system she helped me develop.

Her acts of unconditional love were continuous and her faith in me unwavering.

A viewing will be held at Sunset Memorial Park on Wednesday, February 24, 2021 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. In consideration of the public's health and safety due to COVID-19, the family will not be present at the viewing and a private family Graveside services will be held on at Chalkhead Baptist Church with Brother Michael Woodham officiating.