Patricia Ann Williams

Madison, WI --             Patricia Ann Williams passed away Friday, 26 February 2010, at the HospiceCare facility in Fitchburg, WI; she had been living in Madison, WI.   She passed away as she had lived:   peacefully, quietly, and with dignity.               Patricia was a wonderful woman:   black, beautiful, and bright.   She had big, pretty eyes, a bright smile, and a rich vibrant voice.   She was a good and faithful friend to those she cared about:   loyal, loving, giving, and, when necessary, forgiving.             Patricia was a well-educated woman.   Though she spent a year as an undergraduate student at Central State University in Wilberforce, OH, she graduated with a BA degree in elementary education from Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL, and she graduated with an MEd degree from the University of Illinois--Chicago, Chicago, IL, where her area of specialization was evaluation research.   She also pursued a PhD degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, School of Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, where her area of specialization was educational communication and technology.   She completed all of the requirements for the PhD degree other than the writing of a dissertation.             Patricia was an independent, well-employed woman.   She was an employee of the Madison Area Technical College, where she worked as an administrative assistant in its Department of Human Resources.   Previously at MATC, she had worked successively as an evaluation specialist in its Department of Assessment and Evaluation, and as an associate for project management in its Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning.   Prior to working at MATC, she had been an employee of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she had been a project assistant for the Minority Program of its Division of Student Academic Affairs, and later as the tutorial coordinator of its Academic Advancement Program.   Prior to coming from Illinois to Wisconsin, she had worked for eleven years as an elementary school teacher in the Chicago Public School System.             Patricia was a generous woman.   She donated freely to veterans' associations and to the Salvation Army as well as to a number of local, state, and national charitable organizations.   She supported organ donations and organizations working, and conducting research, to improve the health and well-being in general of all women and in particular of black women.             Patricia was born Friday, 28 February 1947, in Chicago, IL, where she was one of the only two children of her parents Deltessa Starr and Willie Burnett Williams.   She had a sister:   Dianne.   From childhood to early adulthood, she, her parents, and her sister lived in Chicago in harmony with each other; they were secure, healthy, and happy.   Her parents and her sister preceded her in death.             Patricia is survived by her longtime companion, devoted friend, and significant other, Jack Carson, Jr., now living in Madison, WI.   She is also survived by a niece and a nephew--the two children of her sister Dianne and Dianne's husband Willie James Beavers:  Yvette Beavers, now living in Castro Valley, CA, and Edward Burnett Beavers, now living in Chicago, IL.   She leaves behind as well in Madison, WI, and in other places, a number of more distant relatives and a number of friends, colleagues, and coworkers.             To show love, affection, and friendship for her, Patricia would have wanted people to donate money in their own names and/or in her name to one or more of the American Cancer Society, Gilda's Club, Madison, WI, Hospice Care Inc., and the Lupus Foundation of America. There will be a ceremony to celebrate the life and times of Patricia Ann Williams.   Information concerning when and where the celebration will be held will be communicated personally by Jack Carson, Jr., to those whom Patricia would have wanted to participate in the occasion.