Harold Douglas Williams, Jr., 76, after a purpose-filled life of hard work, service to God, humanity and his family, died Thursday, July 27, 2023 at North MS Medical Center after a brief illness. Doug was born on Sept. 21, 1946 in Okolona to the late Harold and Lottie Fay Dunn Williams. He graduated from Okolona High School in 1965 and headed to Chicago where he was a flagman for a couple years at O’Hara Airport. He returned home and began a 40-year career as an Engineer on the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad (GM&O), now the Illinois Central and Gulf Railroad. Doug loved the rails and being a “railroad” man. He married Shirley Lovern Ferguson Williams on Sept. 10, 1987 and they enjoyed a wonderful life together in retirement in their home on the Aberdeen Lock and Dam. A great conversationalist, Doug was a great Southern storyteller who loved nothing better than to tell railroad yarns and talk. In retirement, Doug, like his brother, Guy, took up buying and selling “old things.” He loved tending his yard, keeping it “perfect,” and traveling with Shirley to gaming resorts in Mississippi and elsewhere. He was a Baptist.
A service celebrating Doug’s life will be held at 2 PM Monday, July 31, 2023 in the Sadie Holland Memorial Chapel at Holland Funeral Directors-Tupelo. Private burial will follow in Lee Memorial Park. Visitation will begin at Noon-service time. For those unable to attend, the service may be viewed at www.hollandfuneraldirectors.com/Live-streaming at 2 PM on Monday.
Doug is survived by his beloved wife, Shirley, whom he has compassionately cared for since her diagnosis with Alzheimer’s; his children, Shannon Williams, and Chester Bradley “Brad” Williams, both of Meridian, and his bonus children from his marriage to Shirley, Shelia and Barrett; his brother, Guy Williams and wife, Josephine of Verona; and several grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Lottie Williams.
