Jimmy (Jim) Byron Williams, Sr.

A celebration of life for Jimmy (Jim) Bryon Williams Sr. will be held at Old Hickory Baptist Church in Hattieville, Arkansas on January 28, 2023. Service will begin at 12:30 with Bob Sullivan officiating. Please join the family for food, fellowship and sharing of wonderful memories after the service. If you have any pictures of Jim, please feel free to bring them to share.

Jim, 79, of Sulphur Springs, Texas passed away on December 29, 2022. He was born October 8, 1943, to the late J.B. and Gladys Williams in Little Rock, Arkansas. He married Darlene Wiley on May 10, 1969, in McRae, Arkansas, and they spent 53 years together and have three children: Evelyn (Lyn) Kay, Jennifer Darlene Louise, and Jimmy Bryon Jr (JimBo).

Jim served in the United States Army as a Combat Engineer, for 3 years. After receiving a hardship discharge from the service, May 1969, to help tend to the family farm after his father’s passing. He began his 50-year career in the trucking industry in 1970, where he was known as the Wooley Booger.

He is survived by his soulmate, Darlene; daughter, Lyn Russell (Mark); daughter Jennifer Williams; son, JimBo Williams (Mary Ann); granddaughter, Erika Lyn Caplinger (Dustin); granddaughter, Morgan Alexis Kramer (Freeman); grandson, Tyler Nickolas Williams; granddaughter, Carrie Elizabeth Bigler (Tom); granddaughter Tatum Alexis Williams; great-grandsons, Aiden Quinn Sandoval and Easton Joe Kramer, and Isiah Allen Bigler, and great-granddaughter Analeigha Noella Bigler; and two brothers, Lawrence Franklin (Tuffy) Williams and Benny Joe Williams (Annette). He is also survived by his brothers-in-laws, sisters-in-laws, and many nieces and nephews. Jim will be missed by the many trucking friends/family that he made along the way.

Jim loved his wife Darlene and going on trips with the whole family, working on race trucks with Lyn, Jenni and JimBo. He spent many years making sure his daughters and son could mud race, because it was his favorite pastime and a Williams family affair. He loved telling trucking stories to anyone that would listen. When his kids were little, he loved Saturday breakfast and cartoons. He was so proud of being a Granddaddy (WeWe/RaRa), whether that included chasing the neighbor’s cows, picking up from school and stopping by the store to get popcorn chicken, changing tires, making many trips to McDonalds, buying

toys, going to ballgames or just watching cartoons or scary movies. He was always ready to do what any of them needed or wanted.

Jim was preceded in death by his parents, J.B. and Gladys; in-laws, Ebern (E.H.) Wiley Sr. and Evelyn (Dean) Wiley; granddaughter, Wiley Nicole Russell; sister-in-law Phylis Lynn Williams; uncles Amos Lincoln Williams, William Paul Williams, and Charles Vernon Williams; and aunt, Wanda Lee Williams.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to be made to Dementia Research at UT Southwestern. UT Southwestern’s expert faculty, trainees, and health professionals are uniquely prepared to transform how diseases and disorders affecting the brain are diagnosed, treated, and ultimately cured. Your gift to the O’Donnell Brain Institute can sustain:

· The integration of brain research and clinical activities to quickly bring scientific advances to the bedside

· A healing environment for patients and their families

· Recruitment and retention of the best and brightest clinicians and scholars

· Education of the next generation of top physicians, scientists, and health care professionals

Memorial contributions may be directed to UT Southwestern Medical Center, P.O. Box 910888, Dallas, TX 75391-0888 or online at engage.utsouthwestern.edu to support dementia research in honor of Jimmy B. "Jim" Williams Sr.