Chester "Chet" E. Williams

Williams, Chester E. “Chet”, age 80, passed away on June 26, 2020. Chet was born on February 26, 1940 to the late Carl and Erva Williams. He is preceded in death by his parents, son Kevin, and half-brother Derby Britton. Chet is survived by his loving wife Loralee, son David (Suzanne) Williams of Schwenksville, PA, and two grand-daughters, Emily and Gillian Williams. Loralee sends a special thank you to Dan Fugate and Judy Jacobs, who are family friends.

Chet grew up in Perryton, TX, a small town in the panhandle. He was proud of being from Texas and always carried a bit of that Texas swagger and pride throughout his life. Chet graduated from high school and served in the Army Reserve and then joined the Air Force proudly serving for several years as an Airman Second Class. He married Loralee, his wife of over 60 years, on April 29th, 1960. Chet worked in retail management for various companies including F.W. Woolworth and Ben Franklin. He, Loralee and their two sons, Kevin and David, lived in various places in Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Chet and Loralee moved to Tipp City, OH nearly 30 years ago.

Chet was confident as a young man and talked a lot, enjoyed joking around and playing games. In his later years, he enjoyed golf with his friends and had a golf club collection of more than 30 clubs. Chet also enjoyed doing yard work, including mowing the grass even when in his later years he needed to take many breaks before completing everything. He took great pride in having things nice and neat. He almost always wore a hat when he went out and had quite a collection. Chet had a sentimental heart and put together photo scrapbooks of his family’s early years.  He faced many serious medical issues in his later years and had an amazing tenacity to keep coming back from very difficult circumstances. Chet had a kind streak and enjoyed helping neighbors. He loved his family, especially his two grand-daughters, Emily and Gillian Williams.

Due to the current situation with COVID-19, no in-person services will be held. Arrangements entrusted to Frings and Bayliff Funeral Home.  A memorial tribute video is also available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/M9tHPl6hM2g

Chet grew up in a family with limited resources, which had a lasting impact on his life. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Chet’s name to Mitzvah Circle (https://mitzvahcircle.org/), an organization focused on helping people facing financial challenges. His son, David, is a volunteer there.

His family would like to thank the many doctors and other medical professionals who cared for Chet throughout his later years. They would especially like to thank the team at Upper Valley Medical Center who worked tirelessly during his recent battle with COVID-19 which ultimately took his life.

Chet’s tenacity is what kept him going during challenging times and helped drive his recovery from some significant medical issues. He wanted people to always “keep moving forward”.