Willie Mae Williams

Mrs. Willie Mae Williams, beloved spouse of the late Motto Williams, passed away at Viva Senior Living at Stafford Community surrounded by her family on January 14, 2026.

Willie Mae was born June 26, 1941, in Holly Hill, South Carolina. She was the daughter of the late Willie Cummings and Catherine Guest Cummings Grant. She migrated to New York City with her mother, Catherine, and surviving brother Melvin Cummings. The family resided in several different parts of the city before relocating to Flatbush Brooklyn. As a teenager, Willie Mae applied and was accepted into the gifted and talented student program at Arts and Industrial Design High School, as a fine arts major in Manhattan, New York.

While serving as an after-school reading and language arts tutor, she met her future husband, Motto Williams. After graduating from high school as valedictorian, Willie Mae married Motto Williams, and together they raised four children (Arlether, Otto, Kathy, and Ruanda). Seven years later Willie Mae received the call to work as a psychiatric social worker and therapist. In preparation for entering this discipline, she pursued and attained a Bachelor of Arts degree, graduating Magna Cum Laude with honors from Hunter College. Thereafter, Willie Mae pursued and was granted a Master of Social Work degree, graduating Summa Cum Laude from New York University. After graduation, she worked in a variety of psychiatric psychologist positions within New York State Division for Youth and later established her own private practice as a children’s psychiatric therapist.

In search of beginning a new chapter in her life, in 1981, Willie Mae relocated to Houston, Texas. It was there that she was recruited, hired, and served as the Director for Service to Military Families and Veterans as well as the Gulf Coast Regional Director of the Southeast Asian Resettlement Program with the American Red Cross.

During her tenure at American Red Cross, Willie Mae provided leadership, and guidance to her staff at headquarters and provided supervision and senior managerial guidance to over 25 satellite American Red Cross chapters in the Gulf Coast region. Willie Mae led the American Red Cross Southeast Asian immigration and refugee program. She was recognized by the Mayor of Houston and the Governor of Texas for exceptional leadership and service to the southeast Asian communities in Galveston and Houston, Texas. Willie Mae retired from the American Red Cross after faithfully serving hundreds of thousands of veterans, their families, and refugees throughout her 25+ year career.

Willie Mae had an avid passion for art, antiquities, African, Asian, and Latin American history, philosophy, spirituality, and most especially space exploration. She especially enjoyed the visual and performing arts, astronomy, dancing, gardening, and was an avid reader of international affairs, mysteries, philosophy, and spiritual matters. Willie Mae had several talents, one was her attention to detail, dancing to rhythm and blues songs (right up to the very end of her life), baking, cooking, and making you feel like you were the only person in the room.

She was a woman who truly embraced the concept of being fully present, living in the present, and being the consummate listener. Willie Mae was a quiet and introspective woman, who was intellectually brilliant, independent, patient and very strong-willed as a daughter, sister, mom, auntie, wife, and friend. Truly she was a friend, mentor, and teacher to countless people in New York, New Jersey, and in her beloved Houston, Texas communities.

Willie Mae filled many roles in her life: wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, daughter, aunt, senior executive, board member, colleague and to most a devoted friend. She is survived by her four children, Arlether Williams, (Victor Ugwu) in Fairfax, Virginia; Otto Williams (Alexandria) in London, England and Stockholm, Sweden; Kathy Williams (Grant Lenued) in Humble, Texas; and Ruanda Williams in Houston, Texas. Her younger brother, Melvin Cummings and his two daughters Shataye and Oneika Cummings (Donnie Beasley) and nephews Aubrey, Donnie, and Daniel. She leaves behind eight grandchildren, Andre and Adrienne Romero in Houston and Humble, Texas; Otto Marcel Williams in Washington, DC; Danielle Mamie Williams in Berlin, Germany; Catherine Eleje Ugwu and Victoria Temi-Dayo Ugwu in Fairfax, Virginia; Brice Williams and Delali Kwakuyi in Katy and Houston, Texas; four great-grandchildren, Demarcus Romero, Kathleena Romero, Mila Romero, and Kingsley Williams; as well as several hundred niece, nephews, and cousins.

Willie Mae Williams funeral service will be held on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at 2:00 PM at Money and King Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 171 Maple Avenue West, Vienna, Virginia 22180. Her cremated remains will be disbursed during a private family memorial service at South Padre Island in Texas and in honor of her deep love and passion for space and the exploration of the universe her DNA will be loaded into a personal flight capsule to be launched on the Celestis Voyager Rocket into deep space.

In lieu of flowers, the Williams family requests making a memorial donation to the Alzheimer’s Association, and the National Association of Black Social Workers in her name. Cards may be sent to Arlether Williams, 11329 Nancyann Way, Fairfax, Virginia 22030.

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