Born May 18th 1927, Birdie Lee Williams was the youngest of 3 children born to Bessie Ophelia Williams. She worked in the cotton fields of South Carolina with her mother Bessie, brother Abner and sister Eunice at a very young age. She also learned to cook, sew, and acquired housekeeping skills from her mother and sister Eunice. Armed only with an 8th grade education and a dream of what life could be, she set out to make her mark in the world.
As she started her new journey, Birdie and her two children (Barbara and Leroy) left their South Carolina roots and moved north with her sister to Buffalo New York where she met and married Edgar Walter Meeks Sr. From this union Walter, Dorothy and Sascha were born. It was during this time that she began attending church on a regular basis and found comfort in the teaching and words of the bible. As a woman of God, her main focus was to raise her family and to serve the Lord.
Birdie was resourceful, with a keen sense of economic, methodical, creative savvy and an uncanny ability to make something out of all most nothing. From making meals to clothes and taking care of household expenses, she managed it all. In the early 60’s her marriage with Edgar ended, but she did not let that stop her from forging ahead. She dug deeper into her faith and trusted that a way would be made for her. By then, with 5 children, she continued to do whatever was necessary to make sure she could provide for her family. She channeled her sewing and crafting abilities into making clothes for people as well as quilts and tailoring to make ends meet.
As her children grew older, she began to feel the effects of being alone so she began to pray and ask God to send her a mate. In the early 1970’s that mate arrived in the form of Robert Lee Jones. Instantly she inherited 6 stepchildren from his previous marriage. She dug in again and raised his children as her own with particular detail to spiritual elements to help guide their lives. She believed devoutly in her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and tried to exemplify her life to model the Holy Scripture.
As part of her life’s journey, Birdie came to Los Angeles in the mid 1980’s where she began attending New Antioch Church and has been a faithful member of the community ever since.
Birdie leaves behind her children: Barbara Williams, Leroy Williams, Walter Meeks, Dorothy Meeks and Sascha Meeks
Stepchildren: Marion Jones, Greg Jones, Levoyd Jones, Rob Jones Jr., Eric Jones and Sidney Jones.
Grandchildren: Antoine, Adrian, James, Peris, Aaron, Camille, Justin, Desire, Yari, Angie, Tigre, LaNette, LaTeesha, LaVesta, LaLita, and Tiffany
Great Grandchildren: Desiree, Raquele, Chardonae, Tiffany, Chris, Takora, Amoni, Adrianne, Kelly, Brandy, Ashley, Milan, Nandi, Jyanni, Jammeal, Victor, Vi’Teal, Rani, Princess, Precious, Allyah, and Kaleah