Marian L. Williams

Obituary of Marian Louise Forman Williams (October 1, 1929 - December 15, 2021) Marian Forman Williams was born October 1, 1929 in Portland, Oregon, the daughter of Robert Story Forman and Dorothy Frey Forman. Although her childhood spanned the Great Depression and World War II, she had a stable and happy youth, since her father worked steadily as an electrical engineer building hydro-power dams and working on rural electrification. One of her proudest memories is of climbing to the peak of Mt. Hood (11,250 feet) when she was just sixteen. She attended schools in Portland and received a bachelor's degree in home economics with an emphasis on dietetics and food science from Oregon State University. During her senior year at Oregon State, she met Ralph Williams, a veteran of WWII from Idaho via southern Oregon. Though an unlikely couple-farm boy and sophisticated city girl--they hit it off immediately. Ralph was impressed with her intelligence, calm, and natural beauty. She was impressed with his leadership skills, his easy way of making friends, and his sense of purpose. Ralph was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Marian investigated and joined the Church before their marriage. They were married on July 2, 1952. This was the beginning of Marian's dedication to the two most important purposes in her life: marriage and family, and her work in the LDS Church. Marian and Ralph's marriage lasted over fifty years, until Ralph's passing in 2005. They were the best of friends, complementary business partners, effective parents, and lovers of adventure and travel together. They had six children and were exemplary parents, teaching their children the value of loyalty and hard work through many family projects and in their education. Marian was an active and valued partner through Ralph's many business ventures in different locations in Oregon and Washington. These included farming, trucking, a farm supply business, and real estate development. They had some hard and uncertain times, but in the end were successful and built their forever home in Ridgefield, Washington, where they lived for over forty years. As a mother, she was always a calm and loving presence in her home. She was a hard-working and skilled homemaker and passed on her skills to her children. She promoted her children's education and provided them with many opportunities for learning and growth. She was also a fun mom who loved camping, swimming, picnicking, travel, and fun family traditions. She became the beloved grandmother of 17 grandchildren and great-grandmother to 25. She also was a surrogate "mother" and "grandmother" to many who benefited from her kind and maternal touch. In the LDS Church, Marian served in many capacities as a teacher, leader, missionary, genealogical researcher, and temple worker. She was extremely kind-hearted and generous and loved to serve others and help them in any way. She had a firm faith in God and Jesus Christ and always had confidence that, if she did her best, she would be taken care of. In her later years, Marian developed many new talents. She became the keeper of her family's history, and she wrote and privately published many volumes of life stories, photographs, and family lore. In so doing, she developed an interest in writing and sharing humorous vignettes from her life with a writing group called "The Scribblers." She was a skilled quilter, creating many colorful quilts for family and friends, and teaching quilting classes. She enjoyed water aerobics and loved her "pool buddies." Marian is survived by her six children, Daniel Williams (Lori Fooks), Thomas Williams (Linda Dearing), Kristie Williams Guynn, Leslie Williams Nelson (Dale Nelson), Carol Williams Stauffer (Mark Stauffer), and Tracey Williams (Phetmala Sounthavong) and her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Marian will be interred at a family burial service at Evergreen Memorial Gardens on December 21st at 12:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held in her honor on January 8th at 11 a.m. at the Ridgefield Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 21720 Northeast 29th Avenue, Ridgefield, Washington 98642. A live stream of the memorial service will be provided. For details, call Tom Williams (360-448-5525).