OLD ORCHARD BEACH – Phylis S. Williams, 89, of Old Orchard Beach, died at home on Jan. 12, 2022 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Phylis was born on April 23, 1932 to Norman Spear Sr and Irma Ayers Spear. She spent her childhood on Garfield Street and attended Saco schools, graduating from Thornton Academy in 1950.

She met the love of her life, Clarence J. Williams while working in the business offices of the Pepperell Mill. They were married in 1953 and moved to Old Orchard Beach where they started their family. In 1972 the family moved to Limerick, Maine. Phylis enjoyed country life; gardening, landscaping and tending to an assortment of chickens, ducks, horses, dogs and cats. She taught Head Start in the local schools, where her love for children made her a favorite teacher. For several years she also taught ceramics in her home where her creativity, patience and welcoming attitude made her classes very popular with her students.

Phylis was a good listener, quick to laugh, reliably kind and generous. Her disposition made her a person that everyone wanted to be around; strangers, friends and family alike. She always saw the good in everyone she met. She was beautiful inside and out, but with a humble modesty born of being raised in a home and in a time when humility and honesty were valued above all else. Phylis loved to laugh and was the first to guffaw at a pratfall or her husband’s ribald sense of humor. She enjoyed many lifelong and late-in-life friendships with her peers and her children’s friends. She willingly hosted many an impromptu “soirée” in her home in Old Orchard Beach. Never was there a person who was more appreciative and grateful for the company of loved ones, friends and pets. She will be remembered fondly and missed dearly by everyone who knew her.

Phylis was preceded in death by husband Clarence Williams and her siblings, Norman Spear Jr., Virginia Theriault and Robert Spear. She leaves behind her son Philip (Nunturata) and daughter Kathrin (Anthony DeRubbio) and her beloved cat, Oliver.

A celebration of life will be held in the spring when it is safe for friends and family to travel. Expressions of sympathy are deeply appreciated and can be made as donations to Hospice of Southern Maine or the Alzheimer’s Association.