Nelda Jo Ann Williams

Nelda J. Williams was an exceptional, amazing, free- thinking, stubborn, passionate, dedicated, caring, spiritual woman who touched and impacted hundreds of lives throughout her 30 + years as owner/operator of The Kneaded Body.

Mom took her career and the health and lives of her clients/friends very passionately.  She knew more about the functioning of the human body than most, and if followed, the advice happily given, tended to be both reliable and beneficial.  She believed in educating those she served on the particulars of their own bodies in an effort to reach total healing of the mind, body, and soul.  She was pretty great at it too.

Mom was a very outspoken, no-nonsense, straightforward woman.  She was fierce and took life’s challenges head-on, living out her life with little to no regrets.  She was an army veteran serving her country by way of proudly providing delicious meals three times a day to the men and women stationed at Ft. Sill Army Base.  She, however, found it difficult to do the same for a party of three so that task was happily turned over to my dad.

Speaking of dad, the two not only married each other once but twice, belonging to one another for over 40 years. They loved, liked, sometimes tolerated, argued, and everything in-between that goes with sharing a lifetime together.  He was by her side for every chemo session, medical appointment, procedure, hospital stay, emergency room visit, and bell ringing when she kicked cancers butt.  He visited her every day when we had to make the difficult decision to mover her to Regency Skilled Nursing after her last heart surgery for rehab and later for long-term care; we always thought she would come home.  We found comfort in the fact that she liked most of the staff members but definitely had her favorites which helped ease the pain of not having her home.

My mom was more like my friend rather than my mom.  We had our ups and downs, argued and made up, pushed each other’s buttons, drove each other nuts, made each other laugh, vented knowing the other would listen without judgement, called eachother out when needed, but at the end of the day would do anything for each other.  I loved her, will always love her and will miss her more than she will ever know.

Nelda is survived by her husband, Jim Williams, Shawnee, daughter Lisa Zientek, Shawnee, grandson Tanner Golden and his wife Sarah Davisson of Ft. Worth, Texas, and great-grandsons Matthew Davisson and Remy Golden.

There will not be a memorial or service; she was not that kind of gal.  Her ashes will be laid to rest in the national cemetery at Ft. Sill once arrangements are finalized.