Memorial Service for Bertha Mae (Bert) Williams, 72, of Sisseton, SD will be held on Saturday, March 5, 2016 at 11:00 AM at the Familylife Assembly of God Church in Sisseton, SD with Pastor Robert Beasley officiating. Music will be provided by June Evenson, and there will be private inurnment services at a later date. The Cahill Funeral Chapel of Sisseton, SD is in charge of arrangements.
Bertha was born on July 6, 1943 in Sisseton, SD to Christian John Westerman and Emily Adams. She spent her early childhood in Sisseton, SD at the Tekakwitha Orphanage then after a short stay with her mother Bert and her sisters were placed in a children's home at the Lutheran Indian Mission on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation by their mother. North of Dunseith, ND she resided there until she graduated from high school in 1962 from the Hillcrest Lutheran Academy in Fergus Falls, MN. Bert also attended one year of college at the University of ND at Grand Forks, ND. She was married to Frank Carper until he passed away in 1969 for five years and then later married to Frank Williams and the couple lived in and around Garrettsville, Ohio for 30 years. She was an avid Cleveland Indians, and Cleveland Browns Fan. During her youth Bertha worked as a waitress, worked in various beauty shops, and she worked as a seamstress for a leather works shop. After losing her sight she became a stay at home, loving mother and homemaker. She was a faithful member of the Familylife Assembly of God Church in Sisseton, where she sang in the choir, did Bible study, and was a powerful prayer warrior. During her youth Bert participated in all kinds of sports: horseback riding, softball, basketball, volleyball, fishing and during her one year of college she was a fierce competitor in field hockey. She also was a great singer with a deep rich alto voice. She sang with various choirs, trios, and with the Ohio Sweet Adelines. She loved to garden, can, cook, and bake. She made great pickles, jams, jellies, homemade bread, pies, cakes, and frybread. Bert also loved to sew and embroider often making her own patterns from newspaper print. Bert was a life long sports enthusiast. When her eyesight was failing she would position her chair as close to the TV as she could to watch the games. When blindness overtook her she continued to follow her hometown teams on the radio. After her husband Frank's death in 2010 she returned to Sisseton, and on March 2, 2016 she passed away at the Wilmot Nursing Center surrounded by her family.
Bertha is survived by two sons, David W. Carper of Sisseton, SD and Paul A. Williams of Garrettsville, Ohio; her sisters; Phylomena (husband Doug) Black of Silver Spring, Maryland and Cynthia Hughes of Akron, Ohio; brothers; Cecil (wife Carol) Longie of Spirit Lake, North Dakota and Maynard (wife Lynn) Beaudreau of Peever, SD; nine grandchildren, and two great grandchildren, many nieces and nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents and husbands.
Memorials may be made to the Familylife Assembly of God Church in Sisseton, SD.