A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words.
The photographs said as much on this Feb. 1 day, when family, friends and a community filled Dominion Church along Cedar Creek Road to remember Heather Williams, the young woman whose nose would crinkle in joy whenever she smiled.
“She would be overwhelmed knowing all of you are here,” older sister Mary Williams, 27, said as she looked out into the sanctuary of heavy hearts from the altar to the back.
Those photos told the stories of the better days of a young woman’s life – hamming it up with a father; a day on the beach; a snapshot with a sister and a brother; beaming over an 18th birthday cake slathered in chocolate icing; pitching a softball as hard as she could; and snuggling with the shaggy dog.
“Her green eyes and bright smile are something I will always remember about her,” Bobby Michelle said.
Shirley Payne had her memories.
“She was caring,” she said. “She was strong in her faith. Watching her grow up on the softball fields are some of the greatest treasures of my life.”
Johnny Hyde was one of Heather Williams’ softball coaches.
“She was a joy,” he said.
Tommy Langlotz came from Georgia to tell us that coaching the vivacious teenager “for several years was a privilege” he never would forget.
Alyssa Goshorn shared her memories, too.
“She loved Jesus, animals,” she said, “and her family.”
‘Time after time…’
The camera never blinks, and the photographs and friends told us of a life filled with a joy Heather Williams shared with others.
“She faced trials,” the Rev. Craig Autry said of the Oct. 12, 2015, Sunday night when the automobile accident on Skibo Road at age 16 left a family and the preacher in the medical center emergency room praying for God’s hands to heal her injuries. “I remember we prayed, ‘Let her live.’”
She fought to live, although the accident would leave Heather Williams with cognitive issues and the limp in her gait.
“She watched as her world, her friends and her family passed her by as they would go on to graduate, attend college, get married and build careers,” Mary Williams said. “All things Heather wanted to do. Yet still, she pressed on with her bright smile and love for God. Heather lived with my parents. They have been so strong for her.”
She loved being with her father as they would fish together at the beach. She enjoyed thrift shopping trips with her mother.
“Time after time, she got back up,” Mary Williams said.
The preacher told us something else.
“She remained steadfast in her faith,” Craig Autry said. “She would drag her friends to the altar after losing her brother that left an impact on her life.”
‘It hurts …’
Heather Williams last was seen alive on Jan. 4, according to Fayetteville Police, when she was reported missing after a home surveillance camera recorded her leaving the family’s Glendale Acres home and entering a waiting sedan.
Her lifeless body was discovered on Jan. 10, according to city police, in a wooded area near Newark Avenue and State Avenue near Fayetteville State University.
She was 25.
A 30-year-old suspect is charged with murder in her death.
“It hurts … what happened to Heather,” said Mary Williams, an assistant district attorney in Alamance County. “I want justice for her. Heather was beautiful, loved God and she loved people. We asked God to bring her home, and he brought her to her eternal home.”
She reminded us of her late brother, who died 10 years ago. She reminded us of a younger sister so dear.
“Most people have one guardian angel,” Mary Williams said. “But my family and I know we now have two.”
Epilogue
The preacher offered comfort to a grieving father, mother, sister, brother and friends who came on this day to assure a family it too was not alone.
“All are here today to celebrate a soul we dearly loved,” Craig Autry said as he gave thought to a young athlete on the softball fields or singing hymns on a Sunday morning at what he described at the top of her lungs. “We grieve. We mourn. She is gone too soon, but forever with you Lord.”
And the photographs of a young woman’s happy days spoke another thousand words for all to say goodbye.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
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