Mr. Moses Armstrong Williams

Moses was born to Armstrong Williams and Susie Haley Williams on February 24, 1931 in Liberty City (Miami) Florida. He was the second of four children. His faith was the most important thing in his life and then his family. Moses grew up in the church and attended service as long as he was able to do so. Father Robert Stiefvater came to see him while he was in assisted living. He liked being a parent and his grandchildren were his pride and joy. Moses revealed much about his life and took pride in doing so. He often spoke about growing up in Liberty City, going on jobs with his father and doing work that he was able to do. His relationship with his mother was often a topic and her high expectations of him. He was expected to go to church, go to school and obey rules, show respect and be honest. He was very close to his mother and never complained about her expectations of him, but rather embraced them which became his core values. Moses had many friends in Liberty City who shared his values and many became life long friends who visited him in Wisconsin. Moses began doing lawn work at an early age and the money he earned was used to help his family, since his father died when he was thirteen years old. He worked at Woolworth during high school, continued his music lessons and still was able to be the Valedictorian of his senior class at Dorsey High School in Liberty City, Florida. After high school graduation, Moses moved to Terre Haute, Indiana to live with his maternal aunt, Florida Williams, her husband Jesse and their son, Clarence. He attended Indiana State University for two years and joined the United States Air Force and served for four years. He and cousin, Clarence, who was his best friend, came to Milwaukee after they were discharged from the Air Force to continue their educations. Moses enrolled in the School of Business at Marquette University and earned a degree in accounting. He was told by most companies that he did not have accounting experience and was not hired, yet he took accounting training in the Air Force and did accounting work. He worked for the Post Office for a year and a fellow co-worker, Ruben Harpole, suggested that he apply for an Internal Revenue agent position. The IRS was very strict in their screening process for jobs and went to the streets in Liberty City where he grew up at to interview old neighbors about his childhood. Moses became an IRS agent and revealed that although he was their first black revenue agent, he never felt discriminated against. He had a good relationship with coworkers and some of their family members. One co- worker, Walter Weidner, was his mentor and they remained friends until his death. Moses mentored a young black college graduate from a black college in Arkansas, Rosie Johnson, who became a revenue agent and cracked the ceiling for both women and race. Moses was very proud of Rosie and remained in touch with her until his death. After retirement, with thirty one years of service under his belt, Moses obtained a teaching certificate in Special Education and became a long term substitute teacher for Milwaukee Public Schools. Moses liked playing cards and belonged to two clubs, one club with his colleagues and another one with friends. He also liked playing bridge with his wife and some of their neighbors. Moses liked reciting poems and he and his brother, Israel Beard, often took turns reciting poems. Moses enjoyed music and had season tickets for Jazz concerts and the Classical series at the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for years. He won a trip to England through the Milwaukee Orchestra, went to their concert and also one of Luciano Pavarotti's. Moses enjoyed the trip to London, went to the theater at night and the sites in London during the day. He also enjoyed the day trips to Bath, Stonehenge, and Straford-upon-Avon. He liked walking through the home of William Shakespeare. Moses liked to travel and traveled extensively while he was stationed in Japan. His favorite places to visit was to Florida to visit his relatives and side trips to Disney World with his daughter. He often went to the Washington D.C. area for his daughter to see the sites along the National Mall and to Mt. Vernon to see how the slaves lived. He often made trips to Maryland to visit cousin, Estelle Pinkett. Moses liked to go to Canada to visit Toronto, Niagara Falls and to Ex-Po 67 in Montreal, Canada. Moses was a people's person and enjoyed interacting with others. He pledged Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity while a student at Marquette University. He joined a social club and was a third and fourth degree Knight in the Knights of Peter Claver. Moses was a member of the Frontier's International Service for many years. Moses often attended conventions of the organizations and was willing to take on leadership roles. Moses became interested in gardening and planted over one hundred trees and shrubs on his property, in the town of Lisbon. He enjoyed the outdoors with his daughter and grandchildren. He often played with his grandsons outdoors. Moses was a devoted father and grandfather. He was also supportive of his wife. When his wife decided to go into private practice, he encouraged her to do so and gave much support. Moses married his wife, Emma Chambery, on August 14, 1965. His brother, James Lunsford and Emma were taking classes at Marquette University. James is accredited for this beautiful union and playing match maker. Moses was an honest person. When relatives included him in the estate of a relative whom he didn't know, he would returned the money and asked the relatives who knew the deceased, to use the money. He also made sure that their two aunts and uncle received the money from his cousin, Clarence's estate. Moses was a giving person, who wanted a good life for himself, but also for others. A quote comes to mind from Winston Churchill, "We make living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Moses is survived by his wife, Emma; daughter, Susan Pepper-Sims, grandsons, Rashad Roaf and Ramon Williams; granddaughter, Olivia Williams Pepper; two great grandchildren, Mason Hill and Alora Franklin; sisters, Mary Alice Lane and Helen (Henry) Black; cousins, John (Ruby) Hudson, Bessie (William) Knight, and Alex (Frances) Farrell; nieces, Barbara Florence, Carolyn Braceful, Vanessa Braceful, Sherry Black, Tangie Hasting and Crystal Scott; great nieces, Felicia (Isiah) Hale and Tawana Williams; nephews, Vandy (T ova) Braceful, Gary Black, Rodney Black, Sr., Gregory Williams, Michael Lane, Felix (Dorothy) Williams, Patrick Hammond and Demetrius Marlyn Davis; great nephews, Jarvis Lawhorne and Rodney Black, Jr., and a host of other loving family and friends. He is preceded in death by parents, Armstrong and Susie Haley Williams; aunts, Alice Hudson, Florida (Jesse) Williams and Bessie Richardson; dear uncle, Robert Haley; dear cousin, Thomas Haley; sisters, Olivia Braceful and Clara Williams; cousins, Clarence Williams, Estelle Pinkett, Florida Starks, Roy Richardson, Ethel Green and Catherine Randall; and nephews, Donell Lane and Kevin Black.

Mr. Moses Armstrong Williams

February 24, 1931 - December 30, 2017