Cecilia Ann Williams

August 8, 1937 - August 28, 2018 Los Gatos

Ann passed away peacefully after a long battle with Sjogren’s syndrome and related kidney disease. Born to Cecilia and Rhys Roach in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, Ann trained as a nurse at Llandough Hospital near Cardiff before marrying her husband Gareth in 1959 and moving to Aberystwyth. In 1962, Gareth and Ann came to Berkeley, California, where Gareth pursued a postdoctoral fellowship. Following that, Gareth and Ann returned to the UK for a year, but eventually came back to the South Bay and settled in Los Gatos in 1967. Ann worked at a number of jobs over the years, though she focused most of her energy on her family: children, Jayne and Jonathan, and Gareth. She began pursuing a degree at West Valley College, then transferred to San Jose State, where Gareth taught, graduating with a B.A. in Sociology in 1981. She took great joy in music, camping and travel in the US, the UK, and Europe; in book clubs, theatre, art, and Friday night dominoes. She had a wide circle of friends from Wales, from San Jose State, Los Gatos, Los Gatos United Methodist Church, and Good Samaritan Hospital, as well as relatives and friends in Wales. Her energy, zest for life, kindness and curiosity live on with all who knew and loved her. Besides Gareth, Jonathan and Jayne, Ann is survived by sister Cynthia Evans and niece Emma Jane Evans. A memorial service will be held at Los Gatos United Methodist Church, 111 Church St, Los Gatos, California, on Saturday, September 15, at 2:00 p.m. No flowers, please. Donations may be made in Ann’s memory to the Sjögren’s Syndrome Foundation.