Shirley Williams Obituary

Shirley Walton Ludlow Williams was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 11, 1927.  She was a blessed event in the household of Estelle Eldridge Harris and John Laurice Walton.  She took the hand of God and entered eternal rest on October 31, 2020, at the age of 93, at Capital Caring Health Center in Lanham, Maryland.

“Shyrl” (as many called her), accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior at an early age.  She completed elementary and secondary grades in the Petersburg Virginia Public School System.  She was awarded the Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Virginia State College (University) in 1948 and received the Master of Science degree in Business Education from Syracuse University in 1961.  She studied Personnel Administration at Cornell University (Ithaca, New York) in 1975, and Vocational Education at Tuskegee University (Alabama) in 1982.  Shyrl was especially proud of having earned the CPS rating (Certified Professional Secretary) in 1971, as she was the first African-American in Alabama to pass the two-day, six-part examination during the 17-year period between 1954 and 1971.

Her 48 year work career began at Tuskegee Institute as Secretary to the Dean of Home Economics in 1948.  She also served as Secretary in the President's Office and as Executive Secretary to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.  From 1975 to 1983, she was Assistant Director of Personnel Services.  Upon the retirement of the late Mr. E. M. (Shorty) Miller in 1983, she spent the next sixteen years as Director of Personnel Services. She had other work experiences as part-time Instructor of Business Communications at the Buck-McCray School of Business (Tuskegee) 1964-1966.  She was with the American Red Cross from 1951 to 1953 in Sasebo and Tokyo (JAPAN) and Suwon and Osan (KOREA) in the Far East Theater of Operations (FETO) during the Korean Conflict. 

In 1953, she married CWO Paul L. Ludlow and to this union was born one daughter, Palma Lawrence.  A subsequent marriage was in 1959 to the late Raymond C. Williams, D.V.M., M.S., PhD., and they were blessed with a daughter, Sherelle Rae.

Shyrl was asked to share her knowledge, talents, and resourcefulness in training and development programs with professional and fraternal organizations, schools and colleges, and her church.  She was a Charter Member of the 1966 Tuskegee Chapter of International Association of Administrative Professionals and served as Chapter officer for six years, Chapter Secretary of the Year, Alabama Division (State) officer, chairman of committees and a coordinator of a State Annual Meeting.  She conducted Certified Professional Secretary Review Courses at Alabama State and Tuskegee universities. 

As a Charter Member of the Tuskegee University Office Personnel Development Advisory Committee (OPDAC), Shyrl conducted numerous programs for secretaries and administrative professionals.  She was also a Charter Member of the Tuskegee University Staff Senate, serving as secretary, chairman, and editor of the first Staff Senate Newsletter Update (1980).  She was a member of the Tuskegee Presidential Search Committee (1979-1981) that selected Dr. Benjamin F. Payton as the fifth President of the University.

As a member of the College and University Personnel Association (CUPA), she served two terms as State Chapter Secretary and was on two State Nomination Committees and three Awards Committees for the Southern Region of CUPA. Shyrl was a member of the Committee on Higher Education for four years for the National Association of Educational Office Personnel (NAEOP).  Additionally, she was a Life-Member of the Delta Pi Epsilon national honorary graduate society in Business Education.

She has served as member of Secretarial and Business Department Advisory Boards for Southern Community College (Tuskegee) and Southern Union State Community College (Opelika).  Having been initiated in 1950, she was a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a public service sorority.

Shyrl has been an active member of Greenwood Missionary Baptist Church (Tuskegee) and has served as HR Advisor on the Human Resources Committee, and member of the History, New Member Outreach, Centennial and Benevolent Review committees.  She has also been an active member of the Tuskegee Chapter of AARP.

On the occasion of her 75th birthday in March 2002, the Senate of Alabama passed a resolution recognizing Shyrl's tremendous life achievements in the aspects of family, employment, church and professional affiliations.  Similarly, the American Red Cross proclaimed Shyrl's service in the American Red Cross Club Program (1951 to 1953) as outstanding and invaluable to our military personnel stationed in Korea and Japan.

In 2013, Shyrl relocated from Tuskegee to District Heights, Maryland to be near family members.  She resided with her baby sister, Francine Tyler (The Princess), who was her loving and dedicated caregiver for the remainder of her life. 

Shyrl was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Raymond C. Williams; parents, John and Estelle Walton; sister, Dorothea A. Heath; brothers, John L.Walton, Jr., Calvin F. Walton, Sr. and Eddie Harris, Sr.; and brothers-in-law, McKinley Tyler, Orlando R. Heath, Sr. and William Branch.

Shyrl leaves to cherish her memory: her daughters, Sherelle R. Williams, PhD of Bowie, Maryland and Palma Lawrence Reed, J.D. of Los Angeles, California; sisters, Francine H. Tyler of District Heights, Maryland and Jean A. Branch of Petersburg, Virginia; very special friends, Jackie and Glenn Council of District Heights, Maryland, and Maurice A. H. Gatling of Laurel, Maryland (who affectionately called her “Mama Williams”); many loving nieces, nephews and an extended family of friends, colleagues and sorors.

Her personal motto has been, “Find time still to be learning.” – Marcus Aurelius.

Services will be held 1:00 P.M., Monday, November 9, 2020 in the Chapel of J. M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc., 102 South Avenue, Petersburg, VA. The interment to follow at Wilkerson Memorial Cemetery.

The family asks that donations be made to Virginia State University, use the VSU direct giving link: http://www.giving.vsu.edu/ in the item information section, contributors should select “If other, please specify,” type in:  the Shirley Walton Williams’48 Scholarship Fund.

Please follow the CDC and State of Virginia guidelines.

J.M. Wilkerson Funeral Establishment, Inc., 102 South Avenue, Petersburg, VA, (804) 732-8911, watch the funeral services live online at www.jmwilkersonsince1874.com.