Lawrence Williams

after 18 years of endurance, God in His Infinite wisdom stopped his earthly clock and called him from his earthly home.

Lawrence was born November 25, 1947 to the late Parmalee and Ruth (Ford) Williams in Washington D. C. Lawrence was the 9th of 10 siblings all of whom preceded him in death: John, Carrie, Ruby, Ada Ruth (Bootsie), Helen (Snook), Jessie, Francis, Melvin and Margarite (Rita). The broken link in that family chain has come full circle and is now complete!

Lawrence moved to moved to Philadelphia after the death of his mother; he was educated in the Philadelphia Public School Syste. He was a kind and gentle person and his mannerism was the web that yielded him to  capture the heart of his wife, Andrea. In his youth, he enjoyed various activities such as baseball, swimming, fishing, hunting, riding his bike, boxing and martial arts to name a few. He later progressed to mastering billiards, ping pong, racquetball, checkers and chess. For a few years in between, he thought he was a ski instructor but that was short lived. His activity level was reduced to walking  "5 miles a day" until arthur slowed him down. He also enjoyed walking "the magic carpet" in today's most popular enterainment establishments; a place with no clocks where you forget about your woes. In addition, Lawrence will also be remembered by the family as the Siskel & Ebert critic from our Block Buster movie days.

On April 20, 1968 Lawrence married the love of his life, Andrea Gibson. From this union, three children were born: Lawrence Williams Jr. (dec'd), Terence J. Williams and Lawrence Williams Jr. The lord lent him to her for 55 years. During that time, they enjoyed many family trips, general traveling, social gatherings, dancing and supporting their family through different endeavors. In this union they were blessed and seen togethermost of the time. Lawrence had a fond love for his biological family as well as his in-laws and church famlies. Lawrence and Andrea not only joined Gospel Temple Baptist Church together, they were also baptized together.

Joining Gospel Temple Baptist Church in the late 90's, he was a active member of the Senior Choir, Male Chorus, A Chosen Few and eventually became an ordained Deacon in the early 2000's. He attended the Men's Ministry and was a dedicated member of the Bulletin Committee. This man truly loved Jesus but also lived to please his wife. He was always the same, mild, meek and humble person within reason. When something rubbed Lawrence the wrong way, he would try to address it sternly. Those who really knew him well had to try hard to hold back their laughter.

Like his father, Parmalee, who was a barber by trade, Lawrence continued the family tradition of cutting hair.

Our beloved husband, father and grandfather worked as a Longshoreman for 45 years, until he retired in 2012 due to his declining health. Althrough he worked at the waterfront, Lawrence didn't " curse like a sailor". He also was an entrepreneur who owned a bar but ran it more like a church. Lawrence was one of a kind when it came to running this business. For instance, you couldn't curse, fight, swear or over drink in the bar without a warning and then being asked to exit his establishment.

In closing, Lawrence doesn't have to press on any longer; he has finally met his Master, Hallelujah! He lived a full life and leaves his beloved wife wife Andrea Williams to cherish his memories with their sons Terence J. Williams (Lisa), Lawrence Jr., grandchildren Jasmine N. Williams and Brandon T. Williams, a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.