Mrs Beverly Diane Williams' Obituary
Beverly Diane Lee was born on August 5, 1955 to proud parents, Burrel Lee Sr. and Nettie Mae Spence Lee. She grew up in a home filled with love. As the oldest of five children, she learned early on how to take care of things, and enjoyed telling other people what to do! She grew up in a time where all of the neighbors had a hand in raising each other’s children. If you did something wrong, any of the parents could spank you and send you home for another whooping. The Lee Family was close to their neighbors, and many of Beverly’s childhood friends are among the people she remained close to throughout her life.
Beverly accepted Christ at an early age, was baptized, and became a member of Mt. Hermon Missionary Baptist Church, under the pastorate of the late Rev. A.R. Billingsly. Later in life, she became a member of the Women’s Ministry. She was elected to the Board of Directors of Greater Mt. Hermon, and served as President of the Board for several years. She loved the Lord and later in life became active in the Progressive Baptist State Convention, eventually serving as Statistician for the convention, and serving on the Board. Beverly was adamant at family gatherings that we always keep God at the center of our family.
As a child, Beverly was a Camp Fire Girl, played the flute, and was involved in student government. She attended McKinley Elementary School, Vanguard Jr. High School, and Centennial Senior High School, before graduating from Regina Caeli High School. She then attended Sacramento State University, where she majored in Political Science, and served as a Resident Assistant. Beverly never stopped learning. She attended many conferences and trainings with the postal service all over the nation. She also conducted training for many, and if truth be told, trained many of the people who managed her.
Beverly was a gifted woman. She could speak well, and possessed a great many hidden talents. Beverly knew every zip code in the United States, and probably every country code. Beverly could give directions know matter where you were lost in Los Angeles and beyond. Beverly was an expert shopper, and always took pride in finding the just-right gift for every single person. Beverly was smart. She knew a lot about most things in the world, including politics, geography, history, entertainment, music, and culture. She could beat almost anyone at Jeopardy, and appeared on several television game shows. She knew how to organize, how to motivate, how to make things happen, how to manage finances, how to take every event over the top. You knew when you came to an event planned by Beverly Williams, it was going to be excellent! There was no price too high, no detail too minute for her not to make sure that everything was exactly as planned. If you did not live up to her standards, she told you so. Whether it was your hair, how quickly you emptied a mail truck, how when she asked you to get an item from the store, you should have automatically not come back with one. She thought big, and she dreamed big. When her niece graduated from college in 2013, she told the family she wanted 10 degrees in 10 years, and everyone got busy making that happen. She was not one you wanted to disappoint.
Beverly dedicated herself to whatever she set her hand to do. Whether it was working at the post office, the winter convocation, Christmas gift giving, or her meticulous planning for our family reunions! She held many leadership roles throughout her life, but she was not caught up in titles. She just wanted to make sure things came off without a hitch! She gave her life to those who worked with and for her. She trained many people and mentored many others. Many people credit their success to Beverly helping them move up the ladder. She worked day and night to ensure that the mail got out on time. She worked graveyard shift for many years, and never did get her days and nights straightened out. For amusement, Beverly loved watching television, especially dramas, mysteries, reality competitions, and soap operas. She would often go into her room so that she would not be disturbed.
Beverly lived for her children! She loved her sons, and grandchildren. There was nothing she would not do for them. She was team mom of their baseball and football teams. She gave her all to ensure that they had everything they needed and almost everything they wanted. She enjoyed spoiling her kids, and nieces, nephews, and neighbors considered themselves one of her kids. She was everybody’s big sister, and many beyond her blood relatives felt that she was family. She was a born leader. When Beverly spoke, everyone listened!
You could not find a more loyal person. She loved the Spence family and the Marietta Social Club. She was a proud member of the Lee Family and served as president of the Lee Family Social Club for many years. She was famous for her outstanding reunion planning. She was excited to be a member of “HB” (Hillford Brothers). She was a die-hard Laker fan. She was happy to be Straight Outta Compton.
Beverly was quite industrious. During high school, she worked for Sears Roebuck & Co., and Pacific Bell. Later, she worked for a stint with the Department of Motor Vehicles, but everyone that knew her could see the pride she took in her work for the United States Postal Service! She worked for the Post Office for 38 years, as a letter carrier, a supervisor, a manager. She initially worked downtown at Terminal Annex, but most of her service was rendered at the Worldway Terminal, eventually becoming Manager of Transportation and Operations at LAX-ISC.
Beverly married Ricky D. Williams, Sr. in August, 1978. The couple had three sons, Ricky Darnell Jr., Ryan DeSean and Robert Denard. Robert lived for only 28 hours, but Beverly loved him dearly and mourned his loss. The couple later divorced.
Before dawn on the morning of Thursday, January 19, 2017, Beverly departed this life for her heavenly home. Preceding her in death were her father, Burrel Lee Sr.; her brother, Burrell Lee Jr.; her son, Robert; her stepfather, Ezra French II; her stepbrother, Robert French; and her stepsister Brenda.
She leaves to cherish her memory: her mother, Nettie Mae Lee; two sons, Ricky (Keanni) Williams, of Avondale, Arizona, and Ryan (April) Williams of Compton, California; three grandsons, KeAndre, Ravontae and Rashon; one granddaughter, Ryann; one brother, Kenneth Lee; two sisters, Jackie (Rickey) Hammond, and Michelle Green; one stepbrother, Ezra French III, two stepsisters, Wanda Hendrix, and Thelma Mae (Lanny) Mason; one sister-n-law, Yolanda Turner Lee; four nephews: Burrell Lee III, Dwight (Tanisha) Scorza, Bernard Green Jr., & Elijah Green; five nieces: Brandie (Brandon) Williamson, Reshelle Hammond, Makiah Green, Dessiree Falconer Lee, and Trinity Lee; one grandnephew, Jalen; six grandnieces: Daijah, Jada, Kynnedi, Reshay, Dylan, and Jordyn: two uncles: H.J. Smith, and Bill Whigham, three aunts: Roberta Lee, Henrye Spence, and Virgie Spence, so many beloved cousins, and a host of close relatives and great friends!
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