Adelaide Williams

Adelaide Irene Williams Obituary (Final) 

Adelaide (Addie) Irene Williams, nee Holzinger, departed for heavenly realms on April 24, 2023, at the wonderful age of 95. In her final days and hours, she was surrounded by family who held her and walked her home.  She is now dancing in heaven with her beloved husband of 60 years, Ted C. Williams, who passed away in 2010. She will be greatly missed by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, extended family, and friends. 

Addie and Ted moved to their home on White Bear Lake in 1961, living there thirty-nine (39) years. They raised their daughter Terri Williams (Chuck Jakway,) and son Dean Williams (Donna,) and four grandchildren: Kristy Jeffers (Caleb,) Ben Williams (MaryJane,) Austa Jakway, and John Jakway (Natasha,) at the lake. Addie has three great grandchildren, her namesake Addy, Alex, and Gus. She was one of five siblings born and raised in Willmar, Minnesota to Godfrey and Irene Holzinger. She remained close to her sisters Mary Carnes (Ranse,) Janice Lindblad (Doug,) and her two brothers who predeceased her, John Holzinger (Mavis,) and Robert Holzinger (Carol.) Throughout her life Addie deeply valued family and was proud of her Viking and Norwegian Heritage.  

Addie had the gift of hospitality and frequently hosted gatherings large and small at her home on the lake. One of her greatest pleasures was to gather her children and grandchildren, teaching them to waterski, swim, build bonfires and hosting campouts in the yard. In 1999, Addie and Ted moved to a home on Bald Eagle Lake. There she cared for him until his death in 2010, from the complications of Alzheimer’s disease. It was at this time that Addie’s life also changed with the onset of her own Dementia, resulting in a move to memory care in January of 2012. Despite her fading memory and increasing decline, Addie remained upbeat and positive, a joy to all who knew her. Our family is grateful to the tremendous staff who cared for her over the years. All spoke of her positivity, big smile and delight in living and all things chocolate. 

Addie and Ted shared a lifelong love story. They met and married on Thanksgiving Day in 1949 after knowing one another for eighty-eight (88) days.   She was a private in the Women’s Army Corps, and he a “Handsome Young Captain,” words she penned for an article published in the paper about their whirlwind romance. She often said he ticked all the boxes of the man she would marry; a veteran, college graduate, bridge player and great dancer, and he had to be from the state of Florida. They would live in Alaska and Virginia before settling permanently in Minnesota.  

Addie taught middle school for 30 years in the Mahtomedi school district after receiving her BS degree in Education from the University of Minnesota, and two Master of Arts degrees in Geography and Education. She was a favorite of the School District's students, faculty, and staff. She started the Mahtomedi ski club, wrote, and directed many middle school musicals, brought kids to the National Geography Competition and was President of the Teacher’s Union. After retirement, she continued as a volunteer, teaching English as a second language at Century College, where a scholarship has been established in her honor.  

Addie was a woman of many interests. She traveled to all seven continents, and to her favorite country Norway, several times. She was active onstage and off with Lakeshore Players Theatre for over forty years, winning Best Supporting Actor for her role in Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite.”  She skied the Rockies and the Austrian, Swiss and French Alps, water skied until she was eighty, played golf and delighted in lazy days swimming with family and friends off her pontoon. An avid Bridge player, she played with the same three women every Wednesday for 50 years. She was a novel chef and loved a Weiner roast on her beach with S’mores. She taught herself to play piano, and loved to sing, which brought her and others much happiness. Her laugh was infectious, her smile wide and her sense of humor large. Addie brought light, laughter, and love into any room she entered. She poured herself into all she engaged in, giving one hundred and ten percent of herself. Her zest for living and belief in the possibility of anything and everything, is a legacy that will live on in those who embraced her and her love of life.  

A Celebration of Life is being held at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Road, Mahtomedi MN 55115, on June 1, 2023, at 11:00 am. Visitation one hour prior with lunch following at the church. Memorials preferred to the Addie Williams Scholarship Fund at Century College, Mahtomedi Education Foundation, or Donor’s choice. 

As published in the Pioneer Press & Star Tribune on Sunday, April 30, 2023

Adelaide (Addie) Irene Williams, nee Holzinger,  departed for heavenly realms on April 24, 2023, at the wonderful age of 95. In her final days and hours, she was surrounded by family who held her and walked her home.  She is now dancing in heaven with her beloved husband of 60 years, Ted C. Williams, who passed away in 2010. She will be greatly missed by her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, extended family and friends.

Addie and Ted moved onto White Bear Lake in 1961, and onto Bald Eagle Lake in 1999.  For the past 11 years, Addie has been residing in Memory Care in Mahtomedi and Hugo, except during Covid when she lived with both her son Dean, and daughter-in-law, Donna, and her daughter, Terri, and her husband, Chuck. Despite her fading memory and increasing decline, Addie remained upbeat and positive, a joy to all who knew her and the staff who cared for her. 

A celebration of Addie’s life will be held at ST. ANDREW'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, 900 Stillwater Road, Mahtomedi on June 1, 2023, at 11:00 am.  Visitation one hour prior to service, and lunch to follow at the church.  Interment will be at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.