Rhoda Jane Saunders Williams, the oldest child of Anson Perry and Mary Jane Williams Saunders, was born February 17, 1854, at Darien, Genesee County, N. Y., and died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ruth Sanford, of Little Genesee, N. Y., August 11, 1926.
In 1864 the family moved to Alfred, N. Y., that the children might have good church and school privileges. At the age of sixteen she began teaching school, and so helped herself through college, graduating in 1877. She went to Battle Creek, Mich., in 1878, to take a course in nursing.
In 1882, she was married to Rev. Orville Dewey Williams. A few years later they went to Idaho - he as missionary and pastor at Taney. She taught select school, tutored, and was community nurse until her fourth child was born, when home cares filled her life. Later they went to Boulder, Colo., where in 1902, Mr. Williams died. The. following year she went to Alfred, N. Y., to help her children work their way through school.
Her life was largely one of giving, like her Master to help others. She spent four or five years in Fouke, Ark. Miss Fucia Fitz Randolph, principal of Fouke Academy and Graded School, spoke very appreciatingly of her work there. Said she: "The people of Fouke all loved her very much. She first went there in 1916 when her daughter Inez was a teacher in the school, and was matron of the hall. So great was her interest in Fouke that in 1918-1919 she served the school as teacher. From 1919 to 1921 she was matron at the hall again, doing everything she could to make it home for us teachers. She was interested in all we did and in all the activities of the school and church, and was ever watching for opportunities to give to those in need. In the years since she has always remembered the cause at Fouke with gifts that made our work lighter and with helpful letters of appreciation to the workers there. Fouke has lost a dear friend and supporter."
Some five or six years ago, her children being through school and scattered, she bought a home near Little Genesee, N. Y. Declining health made it necessary for her to break up her own home, and since January she has made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Ruth Sanford.
In early life she was converted and united with the First Alfred Church. At the time of her death she was a faithful and respected member of the First Genesee Seventh Day Baptist Church. She is survived by four children: Allen James Williams, of Buffalo, N. Y.; Mrs. Inez W. Hammond, North Creek, N. Y., Mrs. Ruth Sanford and Miss Bessie A. Williams, both of Little Genesee, N. Y.; and by two brothers, Rev. E. P. Saunders, Alfred, N. Y., and De Alton Saunders, Greenville, Tex. The funeral was held from the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ruth Sanford, Sunday afternoon, August 15, 1926, conducted by her pastor, Rev. A. L. Davis. Words of appreciation were spoken by Miss Fucia Randolph. Appropriate music was furnished by Mrs. Edna Sanford, Miss Gladys Hulett and Mrs. Ferris Whitford. Burial was made in Alfred Rural Cemetery.
A. L. D.
