IN MEMORIAM JOHN J. WILLIAMS
John Junior Williams was born on April 23, 1932, in Greenville, NC. His father was John Henry Williams and his mother was Ida Mae Perkins. His siblings are Carrie Baldwin, Donald Williams, Charles Williams, and Oscar Williams, and he is survived by his sister Hattie Forbes. He would later leave North Carolina for Baltimore, Maryland. to join his family and attend college. Eventually, he would later move to Prince George's County, MD. His loving wife is the late Rev. Loretta Wright Williams, and his three children are his sons, John Andre Williams, Tewodross Melchishua Williams, and Daryl Jose, Williams.
John was a devoted father, grandfather, husband, veteran, and mentor and exhibited pure agape love in his everyday life. He was also an educator, activist, community leader, mentor, translator, deacon, entrepreneur, and radio producer. John attended Morgan State University where he earned his BA in Foreign Languages. He received his Master's in French Language and Literature from George Washington University and completed additional studies and certificates at the University of Maryland Overseas, Morgan State University; College Park, Georgetown University, and American University.
John was a foreign language teacher at Richmond County HS in Warsaw, VA, and at Fairmont Heights HS. He was also a Full-Time Substitute teacher at Central HS and Full-time Retiree-Rehiree. He also joined the brotherhood of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. in 1954, through the Alpha Iota Chapter at Morgan State; and as a lifetime member in the Hyattsville-Landover Chapter. John also served in the United States Army and worked in intelligence while stationed in Germany. John was a member of his beloved Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and served as a Deacon for many years. Later, he would be awarded Deacon Emeritus. He also ran for office in Prince George's County for the House of Delegates in 1978 under the Democratic Party.
John helped to "change the face of the county" in terms of education and activism, as he was the organizer and lead plaintiff in the 1972 desegregation versus Prince George's County Public schools. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a class action suit on behalf of all African American students and nine of their parents in the county. The action sought to further eliminate segregation within the County's Schools. Vaughns v. Board of Education of Prince George's County, which resulted in the transfer of approximately 33,000 students to abolish the last vestiges of the dual-school system.
The decision was a landmark and a point of pride and achievement in the African American community. John was the recipient of numerous awards and recognition such as the outstanding Educator and Teacher of the Year, The Theresa D. Banks Award (1982), Prince Georgian of the Year (1995), Leadership in Service Award by the Harlem Renaissance (2010), Certificate of Appreciation from the Southern Poverty Law Center; Black Living Legend Award by the City Council of Baltimore (2011). He was selected by the Prince George's African American historical Preservation Group to provide an oral history of Prince George's County and was interviewed as part of the documentary (2009). He also assisted with humanitarian efforts and helped to raise more than $100,000 in scholarships and medical supplies for the country of Haiti, a country that he would often visit.
John taught English, French, Spanish, German, and Journalism while at Fairmont Heights HS. He was also the chairperson of the foreign language department for over 48 years. At Fairmont Heights HS, John was the faculty sponsor of the chess program, school newspaper, and senior class and wrote the curriculum for French cooking. He also taught and worked with the Upward Bound program at Howard University. John always encouraged entrepreneurship, and financial empowerment and created many investment clubs in the community and at church. He operated several businesses and was a consultant to other business start-ups. As the father of a son with special needs, John tirelessly served on the Board of Directors for The ARC and worked with New Horizons Supported Services, and supported The Special Olympics, as he and his wife Loretta sought to improve the lives of those with disabilities.
He was a champion for social justice, education, desegregation, equal rights, and opportunity for all and worked tirelessly to better the lives of people here in Maryland and around the world. John also worked as a full-time substitute teacher at Central HS and taught English as a second language for ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) at Oxon HS and Flintstone Elementary, where he worked with international students new to the county. He would eventually retire from PGCPS in 2007.
John is survived by his son Tewodross M. Williams, daughter-in-law, Jennifer Gee Williams; and son, Daryl. His grandchildren are Laila Williams, grandson Adriel Williams, his granddaughter-in-law Asako Williams, and his great-granddaughter, Uta Lula Williams. His other grandchildren are Asukile Melchishua (Washington, DC,), Sakile Melchishua, Belaynesh Melchishua, Bayyana Melchishua, and Malcolm Williams.
His wife Loretta Williams transitioned in 2014 and soon after, his son John Andre Williams transitioned in 2015. In his final years, John was cared for by his dedicated grandchildren, Bayyana and Belaynesh, great caregivers, certified nursing assistants, and his son Tewodross. John loved music, dancing, eating sweet potato pie, walking in the park, and spending time with his family. John would live to the wonderful age of 90 years old before he made his transition on October 10, 2022.
Program from Funeral
Video stream of the Service at Shiloh Baptist Church
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks
Senator Malcolm Augustine, State Senate of Maryland
Delegate Faye Martin Howell, Legislative District 24, Prince George's County, Maryland General Assembly
Dr. Aminta Breaux, President, Bowie State University
Glenn Ivey
Josephine Mourning, President, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Prince George's County Chapter
Hyattsville-Landover Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Bowie-Mitchellville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Alpha Iota Chapter, and Prophets of Persistence, Fall '88 of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
The Veteran's Association
United States Army
Shiloh Baptist Church
Torch Bearers Circle
Bowie State University
Fairmont Heights Alumni Association
Millwood-Waterford Neighborhood Association
The Williams, Gee, Forbes, Darden, and Jones families
In lieu of flowers, the family is humbly asking for donations in John J. Williams's memory to the Fairmont Heights High School Alumni Association (FHHS) and/or to Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, DC in support of scholarships, outreach, ministries, and programs in the community. For donations, please add "In memory of John J. Williams" to the memo or subject line on checks:
SHILOH BAPTIST CHURCH
https://shilohbaptist.org/give
CashApp: $DCShiloh PayPal: DCShiloh Venmo: @DCShiloh
FHHS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 2727
Landover Hills, Maryland 20784-0727
https://www.fhhsaa.com/scholarship-info
CashApp: $FHHSAA2727 (FHHSAlumni)
Also please consider making a donation to the Alzheimer's Association
“I Don’t Envy The Eagle” by Rev. Loretta Wright Williams
