Barbara Yvonne Williams' Obituary
Loving Daughter, Wife and Mother
Barbara Yvonne Williams passed away peacefully Thursday May 22, 2025 after a wonderful 82 years of life. Born March 24, 1943 in Dayton, Ohio, Barbara was adopted by her parents Charles and Inez Shoup on May 11, 1943. Along with her adopted brother Daniel, she enjoyed farm life as a child. Always enjoying the outdoor and being active, she spent many of her days following her father in the fields playing with her dogs while assisting her mother with their daily chores.
Graduating from Beavercreek High School in 1961, she began work as a secretary for Dayton Power & Light. It was while working there Barbara met Tommy Gene Williams and they were eventually married on May 16, 1964, being married for 47 years until Tom passed away in November, 2011. In 1965 their son Scott was born, while sister Debi followed two years after. In November, 1971 the family relocated to Eustis where they lived the remainder of their lives.
While her children were growing up, Barbara embraced being a full-time homemaker. She took immense pride in her family and children, embracing her role as MOM with passion. No task was too big or small, and soon she was helping teach her son how to pull flags for flag football and working with her daughter to perfect her difficult headstands for dance. Barbara and Tom became leaders in the Eustis Midget Football League, assisted in the operations of her mother Inez’s annual dance recitals and eventually were Board Members of the Eustis
Panther Band. All the while, there was never a game, a performance or an activity she missed in support of her family.
As her children became older, Barbara decided to change roles and over time transitioned into part-time secretarial work for a local advertising paper to eventually becoming a full-time secretary & office manager for two small real estate offices in Eustis. Barbara proved to be a talented, invaluable member of those teams while continuing to embrace her role as wife and mother.
Barbara was always at her happiest being outdoors. Her annual vacation with her daughter to New Smyrna Beach became a larger-than-life event. She enjoyed swimming laps in her pool and loved her daily yard work (even while arguing with Tom about planting too many trees in her yard!). But her greatest joy was always family. Nothing brought her more joy than spending time with her mom and her daughter. Thick as thieves, they shared a love for food, gossip and laughter. As her son pursued a career in high-school coaching, no one became a bigger fan than Barbara and she attended well over 500 high school basketball games simply to watch her son coach. Family was everything!
Even as dementia created health issues over the last couple years of her life, Barbara maintained her sense of decency and kindness. She left a legacy of warmth and grace on everyone she was in contact with. Barbara’s life was a testimony of service, faithfulness, gentleness and steadfast love. She will be deeply missed by all those how had the pleasure of her relationship.
Barbara was preceded in death by her parents Charles and Inez Shoup, her brother Daniel Shoup and her loving husband Tom Williams. She is survived by her son Scott Williams and his wife Demetria Wilson and their three daughters, Victoria and Christina Williams and Karis Wilson and by her daughter Debi Williams.
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