Carolyn Williams

Carolyn (Carol) Moore Williams was born on September 19, 1946 in Rockville, IN to Harold Raymond and Nondas Bond Moore and passed away on February 4, 2018 at Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando, FL. She was the baby in a family of 5 children who enjoyed the type of "country" childhood that children today can only read about in books. Carol had her own pet cow, Buttercup, whose milk was her sole sustenance as a baby and she was known to dress her favorite kittens in baby doll attire and push them around the farm in a baby buggy! Carol's brother, Buck Moore, passed on before Carol but she is survived by a brother, Glen Moore and his wife Pat of Havana, FL and 2 sisters, Pat Foster of Rockville, IN and Nancy Miles and her husband Russ of Leesburg, FL.
After Carol graduated from Rockville High School in 1964, she married Michael Ray Devlin and that marriage produced what Carol considered her greatest legacy, a daughter Kimbra Elaine born in 1966 and a son Timothy Michael born 2 years later. Kimbra now works out of New York where she is employed as a flight attendant for Republic Airlines. Her son, Dalton Lee, Carol's only grandchild, helped care for Carol in the final weeks of her life. Carol's son, Timothy Michael, and his wife Renee live in Lakeland, FL where Tim works as a DJ and producer at WPCV Radio.
After relocation to Florida in the early 1970s and a divorce, Carol became the sole support of her young family until an auspicious evening at T.J. Murphy's Restaurant when she flirted with a cute waiter. That waiter, John Richard Williams, became Carol's husband on March 25, 1978. They would have celebrated 40 years of marriage next month.
Carol was a very bright woman, a quick study known by her family and friends as someone who fit into new situations easily and who pursued her goals to completion and usually with great success. When she worked as a receptionist and then a legal secretary at a law firm, she watched the paralegals and intuitively knew she could perform their job. Wanting to advance professionally and earn more money, she began studying on her own and was soon promoted to a paralegal position at a prestigious Orlando law firm. She built on that success by becoming a favorite teacher of paralegal studies at a local college.
Carol was devoted to her husband, John, and fully supported his Florida National Guard duties. When he was away, whether on weekend duty, 2 week stints or 2 month assignments in hurricane relief or riot areas, she rarely complained while she stayed home and "held down the fort". Her support went beyond merely accepting his absences, however. For instance, she helped organize the 1994 National Guard Conference for over 2,500 attendees and, for that effort, was awarded the Florida Meritorious Commendation Medal. Carol's love of organizing was also on full display when she planned large weddings for 2 attorneys at her law firm and was rewarded with a trip with John to San Francisco.
As for her parenting style, Carol was a lioness when it came to her 2 children and her grandson, Dalton. As her son Tim warned, "Getting between Mom and her kids was never a good idea". While she allowed and encouraged Kimbra and Tim to try nearly anything they wanted, at times joining in their hobbies and escapades, she was still "the boss". Even now, when Kimbra is asked what her Mom excelled at, she replies, "Being in charge!"
In addition to insisting that her children try new things, Carol was courageous and always up for exploring new situations herself. Not many people would take a shot at flying on the Circus World trapeze or wielding a machine gun at a Wife's Weekend at Officer Candidate School.
Carol was also a fighter. She fought - and won - a very difficult battle with colon cancer over 10 years ago, undergoing multiple surgeries and procedures in Orlando and at the University of Florida (Shands) and enduring numerous rounds of chemotherapy. Through it all, Carol held herself upright with a big assist from John.
Carol loved taking care of her home and family and that was never more apparent than at Christmas when every area of her house --- even her shower --- was beautifully transformed with holiday decor. Without a doubt, Christmas was her favorite holiday --- even as John could be heard grumbling as he hauled giant tubs of decorations down from the attic! Carol also loved dancing, reading, travelling (but not cruises or beach vacations), being part of her grandson's life, her friends, attending Broadway shows with her daughter, all genres of movies, the Miniature Pinscher, Heidi, she inherited from John's mother, and all kinds of music from country to show tunes. Carol grew up immersed in music so her knowledge of old tunes from the 1920s forward was, indeed, impressive and never on greater display than when she was with her 95 year old Mother-in-Law. For almost 5 years, Carol and John offered a home to John's mother when she became frail and vulnerable. When Carol drove "Mom" to lunch or to medical appointments, the two of them would sing old tunes and challenge each other to remember the right words! John's family is especially grateful to Carol for making the final years of their Mother's life enjoyable and filled with love and music.
Carol will be dearly missed by John, her husband of almost 40 years, by her two children, Kimbra and Tim, and her grandson, Dalton, and by many relatives and friends. Because of her love for her Min-Pin, Heidi, Carol's life can quite fittingly be honored, if desired, with a donation to a local animal charity of your choice.

Visitation

Greeting of Friends

Carey Hand Colonial Chapel
2811 Curry Ford Road
Orlando, FL  32806
Friday, February 16, 2018
2:00pm - 3:00pm

Service

Celebration of Life Service

Carey Hand Colonial Chapel
2811 Curry Ford Road
Orlando, FL  32806
Friday, February 16, 2018
3:00PM