Rose Holmes Williams

Mrs. Rose Holmes Williams was born on March 27, 1945, in Greenwood, South Carolina, to Gradie Elliott Holmes and Maggie Johnson Holmes. The oldest of six children, she was raised in Cokesbury along with her siblings. A graduate of Brewer High School, where she was voted “Most Talented,” Rose went on to study at the South Carolina Area Trade School for Commercial Training. Later in life, at the age of sixty, she earned an Associate’s degree in Business from Piedmont Technical College.

In 1965 she married Harper Williams, her high school sweetheart, and together they shared sixty years of marriage. They raised two daughters, Yvonne and Letitia. Rose worked at Central School, County Bank, Kemet, and Self Regional Federal Credit Union, where she was remembered as a professional, dependable, and witty colleague. Her greatest professional joy, however, came from floristry. She transformed her deep love of flowers into a successful business, creating beautiful arrangements, bouquets, centerpieces, and wreaths, and was a longtime member of the Carnation Garden Club.

A devoted Christian and active member of Morris Chapel Baptist Church, Rose served on the Trustee Board, assisted with the Benevolence Fund, sang in the Senior Choir, and was honored to serve as a Deaconess. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Gracie Lee Holmes, and her daughter Yvonne Llwendolyn Williams.

She is survived by her husband, Harper Williams of Greenwood; her daughter Letitia Williams DeVane (William) of Hartwell, Georgia; three granddaughters, Schuyler Williams of Greenwood, Darrah DeVane of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Brittany DeVane of Demorest, Georgia; four siblings, Pheobia Holmes Horigan (Ed) of Freehold, New Jersey, Alpha Omega Holmes of Cokesbury, South Carolina, Beverlyn Holmes Evans of Anderson, South Carolina, and Vickie E. Holmes Johnson of Springfield, Pennsylvania; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.