Nell Marilyn Condron Williams

Nell Marilyn Condron Williams, 87, of Amarillo, died Jan. 5, 2019.

Memorial services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, January 12, 2019 at Schooler Funeral Home Brentwood Chapel, 4100 S. Georgia St. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home.

Born on Oct. 1, 1931 in Teague, Tx., Marilyn was the daughter of Dr. Stuart H. Condron and Mary Parmer Condron of Canyon.

Marilyn was adopted as an infant from the Edna Gladney Home in Fort Worth. Through the years, she often gave talks and wrote about being an adoptee to promote adoption and support adopting families.

As a child, Marilyn was educated at the West Texas State College teacher’s training school on the WTSC campus.

Marilyn’s father, Dr. Condron, was a longtime professor, first as Dean of Students at Clarendon College in the early 1900s, then as head of the Government Department at West Texas State College.

Dr. Condron served as a visiting professor during summer breaks, traveling with his family to universities around the country, which created a zest for travel and adventure in Marilyn and her brother, Stuart.

Marilyn was Executive Director of the YWCA in Amarillo. She later became Executive Director of Goodwill Industries. After her retirement, Goodwill honored Marilyn by naming a new administrative building in Amarillo for her.

Despite her own physical challenges, Marilyn was a great example for her Goodwill clients and families, encouraging them to face their difficulties with perseverance and grit, and never giving up when things got hard.

She was a tireless champion for the disabled, helping those in her care to find housing, teaching them to budget and handle money, learn to use the bus system to get to and from work and around town, to navigate the grocery store, and to care for themselves in many other ways.

Her own family knew there would usually be several new faces at the table for holidays as Marilyn often invited her workers to dinner so they wouldn’t be alone for Christmas or Thanksgiving.

A member of the Board of Directors of Amarillo Red Cross, Marilyn was a longtime water safety and aquatics instructor and instructor trainer. She taught swimming lessons for many years through the YWCA and Red Cross. She was an in-demand private swimming tutor at community pools and in private homes across the Panhandle.

As a member of the United Way of Amarillo, Marilyn was involved in the agency’s annual pledge campaigns and writing funding grants for UW partners. She sat on the Boards of Directors for several United Way agencies, including the Amarillo Community Center.

Besides her work, Marilyn loved dogs. She and her husband, Duane, had shelties for many years and when she became visually impaired, found a great friend in her guide dog, Wilson. Marilyn and Wilson made many visits to community groups, schools, and churches, educating people about service animals and living a full life despite having a disability.

An accomplished seamstress, Marilyn made her own clothes for many years since, as a teen in the 1940s and 50s, it was difficult to find clothes for tall women. She could, without breaking a sweat, sew an entire outfit in the time it took her husband and sons to watch a Dallas Cowboys football game.

Marilyn and Duane loved to travel, visiting Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, Canada, and crisscrossing the U.S. in their RV, making friends from every corner of the country. While on a cruise in Alaska, Marilyn and Duane befriended two young men from Australia who were touring the U.S. Not long after returning home, the Williams’ hosted the Aussies in their home as they continued their adventures across the country.

When their three boys were young, the Williams would travel in their RV to visit family and friends around the country, enjoying camping, sightseeing, water skiing, and boating.

Marilyn and Duane also loved spending time with family and friends at the cabin they built near Kansas, OK., exploring the countryside and enjoying the beauty of the Ozark Mountains.

Marilyn was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Duane B. Williams; son, Jay D. Williams; brother, Stuart Condron; nephew, Chad Williams; and niece, Jan Condron Mahoney.

She is survived by sons Stuart and wife, Lisa, of Amarillo, and Ken and wife, Kathy, of Garland, Tx; grandsons Logan and wife, Rachel, of Amarillo, and Sean and wife, Katie, of Plano, Tx; great-grandsons Carlos and Harrison Williams of Amarillo; in-laws Arvell and Monica Williams of Amarillo; Carlynn and Ed Delosier of Hereford; Fanelda and Russell Westphalen of Kiron, IA; Nell Williams of Victoria, Tx; and numerous nieces, nephews, and grands in Texas, Iowa, California, Massachusetts, and Virginia.

Donations may be made in the name of Marilyn Williams to Amarillo Meals on Wheels at www.amarillomealsonwheels.org.