Remembering Edie Williams, champion of Lady Vols logo, who died at 88
If you didn’t get to know Edie Williams, who died early last Wednesday morning at Shannondale Nursing Home after a short illness, you missed a blessing. She died less than a month after her 88th birthday, but the memories are rich and full, still lingering in all our hearts and minds.
A Park City native, she capped a life of service to others by being one of the movers and shakers in the drive to reinstate the Lady Vols name and logo for all women’s sports at the University of Tennessee. She fought the good fight and lived long enough to see it become reality.
More:University of Tennessee announces return of Lady Vols logo for all sports
An accomplished vocalist and pianist, veteran Tupperware salesperson, leader in her church, barbershop quartet singer, sister, mother, grandmother, aunt, and faithful and loyal friend, Edie lived life to the fullest. When she was on your side, you had someone who would stick with you through the good times and bad.
One of her friends offered the thought that it was hard to imagine Edith without something important going on in her life. There were few wasted moments.
Our relationship dated to September of 1955 when our family arrived in Knoxville from Cynthiana, Ky., to assume the pastorate of First Christian Church. She and her late husband, Alex, were among the first people we met, and the relationship has continued unabated over these nearly 63 years.
There are four Williams children, Mark, David, Kate, and Tom, each of whom reflect the best of Edie and Alex’s personalities and character.
It didn’t take much to get Edie fired up for a cause. When the Lady Vols nickname and logo controversy, the product of a regrettable decision, came into the public arena, Edie approached the drive to bring them back with an evangelical fervor.
More:How 5 persistent women were able to restore the Lady Vols name, logo
One piece of correspondence she sent to University of Tennessee president Dr. Joe DiPietro reflects her personality and drive to see the nickname restored. She made sure that Dr. DiPietro and the 25 or so media types and friends with whom she shared the missive knew of her love and loyalty to the University and, in no uncertain terms, stated her desire to see an egregious wrong be righted.
“You are the esteemed president of MY alma mater. I’m a Knoxvillian, having graduated from UT as Edith Pickell in 1951. I met Alex Williams at UT in 1950. We were married in 1957, and he died almost four years ago. I have two sons and a daughter-in-law who graduated from UT, but the whole family is crazy about the Vols and the Lady Vols. I have two granddaughters who are a senior and a freshman at UT, and a grandson who will eventually go there.
“I am SO delighted that you have hired a woman to replace Chancellor Cheek. She sounds wonderful. NOW, would you PLEASE re-install the Lady Vols name and logo to where it was before it was taken away? I’ve been one of MANY Lady Vols supporters who have been collecting signatures on a petition. I mail mine, six pages at a time, to Susan Whitlow in Bristol, Tenn. She, in turn, mails 500 at a time to you. At the last count, she had sent over 25,500 names to you on the petition to get the LADY VOLS LOGO BACK!
“I would appreciate your response to my e-mail, and all of us would be thrilled to have the logo back as it once was so we can quit our volunteer job and begin concentrating on the University of Tennessee and the Vols and the Lady Vols again.”
That was certainly to the point. That was just the way Edie was. She was certainly ecstatic that the Lady Vols name and logo had been restored after a three-year struggle. The conventional wisdom was that the Lady Vols name would exist only for basketball, but Edie and friends defied the doubters. How they pulled it off was something to behold.
Edie was a great deal like my friend Mary Wine, who worked in the Public Relations Office at Tennessee and seemed to know everything that was happening on campus and was never reluctant to share what she knew. She had a sign on her desk that read, ““It’s not how many years a woman has lived. It’s how many people are glad that she did.”
Edie blessed any number of people in all walks of life during her earthly journey. When my wife and I saw her the Monday before she died, she still remembered the good times and shared bountifully with us. The Edie Williams persona was as fascinating as ever and the years passed in review quickly. Those nearly 63 years I had known her are still memorable, still special, and still unforgettable.
Simply put, every generation needs an Edie Williams to light the way.
Services are set for Saturday at 1 p.m. at Lighthouse Christian Church of 8015 Facade Lane in Powell. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m until service time.
Tom Mattingly is a freelance contributor.