Francine Annette Williams

Graveside services for Francine Annette Williams, 80, Malvern, Arkansas, formerly of Caulfield, Missouri, will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, October 19, 2024, at White Oak Cemetery in Caulfied, Missouri, under the direction of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.    

Mrs. Williams passed away Wednesday, October 9, 2024, surrounded by her loving family.

She was born February 17, 1944, at Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  Francine graduated from Bakersfield High School in 1962 and later in life she looked forward to their yearly class reunions.  On August 31, 1963, she married Willis Eugene Williams, the man she loved her entire life.  She worked many years as head cook at Bakersfield school, sharing many laughs and memories in the kitchen.  She was a mother to many, you’ve never been loved by anyone until you’ve been loved by Francine.  She adored her children and grandchildren, teaching and demonstrating unwavering love, trust and faith in God.   Mrs. Williams believed a relationship with Jesus begins and ends on your knees in prayer.  For over 50 years, she and her best friends Sister Pat Ward and Sister Margaret Smith along with her sisters in-laws Mable Leonard and Martha Peters spent many hours praying for others where countless prayers were and still are being answered.  She loved her family and always looked forward to her Sister’s Day, where she and her sisters would get together and have lunch at the Bakersfield Café.  In her free time Francine loved to play Scrabble, dominos or puzzles with anyone who would join her.  Francine was a woman of great faith and was a member of Temple of Jesus Name in Hot Springs, Arkansas, it wasn’t just a church but family.

Those who abide are her children, Angela Foster, Willis Williams, Jr. (Shana), Joe Williams (Amy), Amy Berg (John) and Michael Brakefield; grandchildren, Rachelle Williams (Quentin), Liza Williams, Audrey Williams (Austin), Veronica Sage Estlinbaum (Ash), Makayla Pearsall (Michael), Austin Pearsall, Dreydan Williams (Payton), Keegan Williams (Rebecca), Austin Alexander (Taylor), Noah Alexander, Tyler Berg and Steven Berg; great-grandchildren, Mylah, Millie, Maggie, Lizzie, Isaiah, and Paris; one brother, Darrell McFarland (Patsy); three sisters, Kay Grayham, Karen Skiver (Larry) and Kathy Lally (Terry); and many nieces and nephews that she loved dearly.

She has been reunited in Glory Land with her parents, Woodrow Wilson Smith and Dorothy Smith, her husband Willis Eugene Williams, her precious blue eyed daughter, Deborah Brakefield, two sisters, Wadyna Littlewood and Carla Smith-Lally, several sister -in-laws and brother-in-laws as well as some beloved nieces and nephews.

            “Her children arise up, and call her blessed.”  Proverbs 31:28

Visitation services will be held from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m., Friday, October 18, 2024 at the Langston Street Chapel of Robertson-Drago Funeral Home.  Memorial contributions may be made to White Oak Cemetery and may be left at or mailed to Robertson-Drago Funeral Home, 211 West Main, West Plains, MO  65775.