Mary Lou Williams was born Mary Louise Roewe in East St. Louis, Ill., in 1926, the youngest of the six children of August and Agnes Roewe. She died at Memorial Hospital East, in Shiloh, Ill., surrounded by her children, on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021. She attended Eastside High School where she was cheerleader, before being a cheerleader was a thing.  After graduation, she took a job at Scott Air Force Base, working there through most of the end of World War II. She married East St. Louis-native Ken Williams in 1951. She accompanied Ken to Quantico, Virginia after he was recruited to work as a Special Agent for the FBI. She took a job there working at the Pentagon. After Ken finished his training, they were assigned to various FBI field offices including Charlotte, N.C., Columbia, S.C., Atlanta, Ga., spending her best years with her husband as the FBI Special Agent in Charge in Valdosta, Ga.  She thrived in the southern climate, full of school and church events, sports and cherished church gatherings, and enjoyed Valdosta's culture of bridge and cocktail parties and southern fish fries. Mary Lou's life, up to that point, had been fundamentals.  The Valdosta experience was transformative, as Mary Lou achieved everything she had prayed for in her life: the love of a committed, healthy, active, tightly-knitted Catholic family, vacations along the Florida coast and a life in a small, short-wintered city full of beautiful azaleas, pecan trees and close friends.

In the winter of 1967, the Williams family was transferred to the FBI St. Louis office where they were reunited with their families.  There she participated in league golf on courses in and around St. Clair county, landing 2 hole-in-one trophies. She was a life-long card player, achieving the highly coveted position of Master of Bridge, playing regularly into her 90s. She and Ken became  "Snowbirds," escaping the O'Fallon winters and vacationing along the warm coast of Texas.

Mary Lou Williams had a career in the local fashion industry. She was a dedicated volunteer at St. Clare parish, then at St. Nicholas parish.

Mary Lou is survived by her daughter, Pat (Mike) Godt of O'Fallon Ill., and their children Laura (Jacob) Hong, Lynn (Jon) Kee and Scott (Talia); her sons Scott, who lives in Los Angeles with his daughter Annie Louise; and Keith, of Atlanta, Ga.; with his two children Alexander and Lee. Mary Lou is also survived by six great-grandchildren, including Andrew and Jack Hong; Mayzie Kee; and Ella, Elaina and Kenny McGreevy; as well as cherished nieces and nephews; and sister-in-law, Dave Roewe.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Sign the guestbook at www.wfh-ofallon.com

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1:30 pm, Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at St. Nicholas Catholic Church, O'Fallon, with Msgr. William J. Hitpas presiding. The family will receive friends one hour prior. Burial will follow at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery, Shiloh, Ill.