John D. Williams

John D Williams of West Lakeland, MN passed away at the age of 62 on March 10, 2025 after a courageous battle against cancer. John was surrounded by his adoring wife Jean, his loving family and dear friends.

John was born August 23, 1962 in St. Paul, Minnesota to parents Edmund and Shirley Williams. He graduated from Harding High School in 1980. John met Jean, the love of his life, in 1981 at A&W where they both worked. They were married May 18, 1991 and they were blessed with nearly 44 years of life together. Their love, devotion and care for one another was evident to all and permeated every minute of their time together.

After high school John worked as an auto mechanic, retiring from R&S Automotive in 2019. John was a gifted mechanic who could diagnose most automotive issues by description and sound alone. His MacGyver-like qualities often led him to reengineer tools to function in unintended but quite successful ways.

John was extremely creative and active outside of work. He was known for his many hobbies which included rebuilding engines, vehicles and tractors; woodworking; making beer and wine; gardening and canning. He was generous with his time, helping family and friends without hesitation. His greatest joy was spending time with Jean, Daisy and Lucky, his family and many friends sharing stories and good times in the garage, at the cabin, or around the fire.

John was preceded in death by his father, Edmund. John is survived by his loving wife, Jean; his beloved mother, Shirley; his siblings Daniel (Sue), Carrie (Bill) Carlson and Jill (Duane) Lindahl; nephew and nieces, aunts, cousins, in-laws, numerous friends and his beloved pets Daisy and Lucky.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, March 22, 2025 at the Lake Elmo Inn Event Center, 3712 Layton Ave N, Lake Elmo, MN 55042. Visitation will start at 11:00 AM followed by a service at 12:00 PM. A reception will be immediately following the service. Private interment at Union Cemetery, Maplewood, MN, will be at a later date.

John would never have wanted to wear a suit and tie to this event, so you don’t have to either. To honor John’s style, the family requests that attendees wear whatever’s comfortable, t-shirts and jeans are welcome.

The family wishes that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to the Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation (https://netrf.org/get-involved/give-now/), in hopes that one day no one will have to go through what John did.