Obituary of Dawn Lena Williams

March 25, 1942 – November 13, 2018

Dawn Williams.  Age 76 of Southgate.

Beloved wife of the late Ted Williams.  Loving mother of Heather Williams and Erika (Steve) Egan.  Dearest grandmother of Stephanie Fowler, Caitlin Egan, Kyle Egan and Dominique “Nikki” (Ashley) Sulla.  Great grandmother of Lena Fowler and Ariel Taylor.  Dear sister of Starr Johnson.  Also survived by nephews Dr. Jeff Johnson and Donald Johnson and great niece Alexis (Bobbie) Holcomb.

FAMILY TRIBUTE

Dawn L. Trisch was born in Detroit, Michigan.  She was raised in Southgate by her parents and continued to live there after she “roped” in Ted Williams to marry her and start a family of their own.

Starting out her young career as an Operator for Michigan Bell was fulfilling, but it was not long until daughters, Heather and Erika, came along to change that plan.  A stay at home Mom she became and a darn good one to boot.  However, it was short lived as Ted had to medically retire so Dawn went back to work for Michigan Bell and quickly worked her way up to a Manager of Operator Services before retiring from AT&T.  Most people slow down after retirement, but that wasn’t in the cards for her because she had four very active grandchildren, Stephanie, Caitlin, Kyle, and Dominique, to keep her on her toes.  Attending sporting events, band concerts, dance and modeling sessions, as well as baking, participating in school projects and attending high school and college graduations are just a few of the things the kids kept her busy doing.  Let us not forget planning bridal showers, baby showers, and weddings as well.  The real joy came into her life with the birth of the next generation, her two great granddaughters, Lena and Ariel.  These two little girls could light up a room for "Nana/ Sugar" like no others. 

One of her true loves in life was Ted.  They had several hobbies together such as raising tropical fish and some serious scrapbooking activities; but by far their favorite thing to do was travel to exotic places aboard cruise ships.  They introduced the family to cruising by planning many family vacations for everyone over the years.  Their philosophy was to create memories rather than give meaningless gifts and that they did!

Dawn’s childhood summers were spent camping up north with her baby sister, Starr, and her parents by the lighthouse in Fort Gratiot and gradually moving towards being on Lake Huron in Lexington.  This soon became her favorite spot to be on this earth.  As each generation has grown so has her special place from tents to a mobile home in North Shores.  All the kids were introduced to what she referred to as "her slice of heaven".  It truly is a place of peace and tranquility.  Watching a sunrise or sunset, seeing the whitecaps from a Northeastern or crystal-clear smooth water, sitting at a fire or watching the fireworks ... it didn't matter because it was about friendships and relaxation that could be found no place else in the world.

Dawn lived a GREAT healthy life until about six months ago when everything started to deteriorate at once.  That is something to be grateful for as she loved life.  Now she is rejoined with Ted, her Mom and Dad.  God took the best, the Matriarch of this family, the glue that kept us together and made us all stronger human beings.  Now we have another guardian angel and a job to do to carry on her legacy.