- Date Of Birth: July 8, 1924
- Date Of Death: March 18, 2011
- State: Texas
Myrtle Lorene Wiliamson, July 8, 1924 – March 18, 2011.
Myrtle Lorene Bobbitt Williamson was born in Ponta, Texas, on Jul 9, 1924,and passed away on March 18, 2011, at the age of 86, in Temple, Texas, from the aftermath of pancreatic cancer. She loved life and made a heroic struggle for the past year, but was not afraid to die and let go of her body when it no longer served her. She was preceded in death by her parents: Ludie Tipton and William “Judge” Bobbitt, three sisters: Violet, Thelma, and Margie and five brothers: Jack, Roy, Earnest, Dorgan, and William “Junior.” She met the love of her life, Bernis Carl Williamson when she was 14 and he was 17.
They married on January 15, 1944, when she was 21 and he was 24 in Jacksonville, Texas, at the Baptist Seminary, on a snowy day. She said she ruined a good pair of “pumps” but it was worth it! They raised two daughters: Shirley Weiler of Austin and Barbara Macon of Belton and lived together for thirty four years until Carl’s death at age 57. Myrtle was a loving and faithful Army wife, making a home for her family though Carl’s multiple military assignments, including: Camp Swift (near Bastrop,) Ft Riley, KS, Ft Custer, MI, Ft Sill, OK, Ft Gordon, GA, the Flint Kacurn, Germany, and Ft Hood, TX.
She kept his memory alive for their daughters and two grandchildren: Monica Mueller of Austin, and Marc Williamson of Dallas, and her two great grandchildren: Owen and Willow Mueller. While she had little formal education, she loved learning, read two newspapers daily, enjoyed crossword puzzles, played a “mean” game of canasta, and learned to play Scrabble in her 70’s. She loved people and never met a stranger. She was baptized in the river outside Wrens, GA as a member of Mt Horeb Baptist Church. She was subsequently a member of the Central Baptist Church of Jacksonville, the First Baptist Church of Copperas Cove, and most recently Keys Valley Baptist Church of Belton. She was a Sunday School teacher, a Women’s Missionary Union director, a strong promoter of the Lotty Moon Christmas offering, and served many roles in her church activities.
Many preachers, missionaries, and evangelists looked forward to being invited to her home cooked meals and desserts, which were legendary. She also fostered 5 children from the Texas Baptist Children’s Home in Round Rock. As a child, she picked cotton in East Texas and looked forward to getting her bag full enough for a soft bed in the red dirt fields. She worked as a waitress in her teen years, sold Avon, owned and ran the Cactus Café in Copperas Cove with her late husband. They also coowned and ran a worm farm and bait shop at Stillhouse Hollow Lake with her husband and friends Bill and Helen Yearwood. She believed in love and had a second marriage to Willie Fryar on February 2, 2002, who has also preceded her in death. Her memory will be cherished by those whose lives she touched.
Mrs. Williamson died Friday in a Temple hospital. She was born July 9, 1924 in Ponta, Texas to William Jasper “Judge” Bobbitt Sr. and Loudie Tipton Bobbitt. She was raised in East Texas and picked cotton as youth. She married Bernice Carl Williamson on January 15, 1944. She was a faithful army wife and made a loving home for her family despite multiple military assignments, finally settling in Central Texas in 1968. She and her husband owned and operated Cactus Restaurant in Copperas Cove and also a worm farm and bait shop at Stillhouse Lake.
She was baptized in a river outside Wrens, GA and was subsequently a member of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, First Baptist Church in Copperas Cove and most recently Keys Valley Baptist Church in Belton. She was a Sunday School teacher, Women’s Missionary Union director as well as fostered 5 children from the Texas Baptist Children’s Home in Round Rock.
She was preceded in death by her parents, 3 sisters and 5 brothers as well as her husband Carl. She later married Willie Fryar on February 2, 2002 and he also preceded her in death. Survivors include 2 daughters, Shirley Weiler of Austin and Barbara Macon of Belton, 2 grandchildren, Marc Williamson of Dallas and Monica Mueller of Austin, 2 great grandchildren, Owen Mueller and Willow Mueller both of Austin.
