Margaret Louise Williams

Dr. Margaret Louise Williams (née Martin), a nursing educator, global traveler, and cherished mother, passed away peacefully on May 23, 2026 (age 99). Born on Oct 3, 1926 in Dayton, Ohio, she was the youngest of four children of Edgar and Margherita (“Rita”) Martin.

Dr. Williams (known to her friends as “Peg”) balanced a career with raising three boys, and training the next generation of nurses. With a strong desire to be out in the world, Peg began her education as a member of the WWII U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps where she became a Registered Nurse (RN) through Alfred University. In the post war years she earned a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University and was a member of Pi Beta Phi. Later in life as she raised a family she earned a Master of Arts from The Ohio State University, and a PhD from the University of Maryland.

Her life was one of adventure, traveling with her late husband of 63 years, Dr. Thomas Williams, a cultural anthropologist. Together, they lived in austere jungle conditions in the late 1950s and early 1960s among the Dusun people in Northern Borneo to support Tom’s anthropological fieldwork. On the way home through Hong Kong when Tom was intrigued by the life of the fisherfolk, a builder offered to build them a sailing junk. Peg used the money she had brought to buy a diamond, and they bought their first of many sailboats. The Junk, when delivered to the US from Hong Kong, drew considerable attention in Sausalito, CA, including a visit from Audrey Hepburn. Over the following decades, Peg somehow corralled three young boys living aboard subsequent sailboats for the summer months in Galesville, MD and instilled in them a love of sailing.

Throughout her life Peg always had a dog near at hand, but her favorites were her weimaraners, which she adored. While she loved keeping up with the news of her six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, she also wanted to hear all about their dogs.

Survived by her three sons Dr. Rhys Williams and his wife Cherylynne, Dr. Ian Williams and his wife Liz , and Rear Admiral (USN Ret.) Thomas Williams II and his wife, Jessica, Peg will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

A Memorial Service will be announced at a later date.