Zeta Soror Coletta Williams honored on 90th birthday

The H.F.V. Wilson Community Center played host to a joyous celebration Saturday to honor a key member of the Ardmore community.

The community center’s ballroom teemed with friends, family, neighbors and church members celebrating the 90th birthday of Coletta Williams.

Williams will be among those featured in a new wing of the Greater Southwest Historical Museum honoring the black presence in Ardmore, according to Williams’ son Jonathan.

“She is the matriarch of our family,” Jonathan said.

The life-long Ardmore resident has been involved in youth education in various capacities, whether it was working for Ardmore City Schools or through her work with the Sunrise Missionary Baptist Church. Williams’ son Bernard said his mother was vital in emphasizing education not only for him and his four brothers, but for all the children whose life she has touched.

“She put all five of us through college,” Bernard said. “Now all of us at least have master’s degrees.”

Jonathan said that the Williams family came to Indian Territory in the 1800s and settled in what would later become the state of Oklahoma. Williams has lived in Ardmore since her birth in 1920, except for a few years after her husband joined the Navy.

Bernard said education has been a cornerstone of his mother’s life.

“It’s a social thing where she gets people together and encourages them to go to school,” he said. “She was instrumental in that.”

In addition to the family and friends honoring Williams, representatives from local organizations came as well. Mary Johnson represented the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, of which Williams is a member.

“She’s been a very supportive member of the sorority,” Johnson said. “She’s been an active member and supporter.”

Williams’ brother Monroe Casey gave the occasion for the celebration, telling the assembled crowd how important she is to the community.

“She mothered her children, my children, and everyone else’s children in the neighborhood,” Casey said. “We turned out alright.”

Jonathan said he did not want attendees of Saturday’s celebration to lose sight of the real reason for the celebration.

“We’re not just celebrating because she’s some great civic leader,” Jonathan said. “We’re celebrating because she’s our mother. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for her.”