Melanie J. Williams

Melanie Jean Williams was born February 3, 1948 to Harvey and Doris (Thompson) Stenerson in Russell, Minnesota. She was baptized and confirmed at First Presbyterian Church in Russell (now Grace First Parish), where she has been a life long member. She received her education in the Russell schools, except she attended the 8th grade in Granby, Colorado. On April 10, 1965 Melanie married Richard Williams at First Presbyterian Church. Their union was blessed with four children and 50 years of marriage together. The couple lived in Russell their entire mar-riage except for various places while Dick did road construction. In 1974, they started farming near Russell until they retired and moved into town in 2010. While being a homemaker all of the time, Melanie also worked at BH Electronics for a while, and for over 20 years at the Schwan Food Company in Marshall. In 1996 she started working as a sales associate at Season Gallery in Marshall until she retired. Over the past 16 years while battling cancer, Melanie’s mission was to share her experiences and build people’s faith and hope. Following the celebra-tion of her 50th wedding anniversary, Melanie entered the care of Prairie Home Hospice in Marshall on April 11, 2015. On Thursday, April 16, 2015, she died peacefully surrounded by her family at the age of 67 years.

Melanie had a gentle, sweet spirit. She always saw the best in people and made many friends wherever she went. She enjoyed spending time at the lake with family, sitting in the sun, listen-ing to the loons, playing cards, or just drinking coffee and visiting with friends. She especially loved spending time with her grandchildren, which included many sleep overs and baking cook-ies. She always had a way of making everyone feel special and loved.

She will long be remembered for her strong faith, her ongoing strength, and the inspiration she has shared with everyone she met.

Melanie is lovingly remembered and missed by her husband, Dick; her children, Lyle (Marilyn) Williams of Russell, MN, Scott (Terri) Williams of Russell, MN, Wendy (Bob) Lustfield of Bala-ton, MN, and Melissa (Jason) Janssen of Russell, MN; ten grandchildren, Ski (Naomi) Williams, Amber Williams, Megan, Dustin, and Casey Williams, Christopher Lustfield, Kelsey, Kristina, and Miranda Lee, and Emma Janssen; one great-grandchild, Haylee Williams; three brothers, Ron (Sharon) Stenerson of Tyler, MN, Jerry Stenerson of Russell, MN, and Perry Stenerson of Fair-mont, MN; and many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; infant brother and infant sister Barbara; and nephews Mark and Chad.