Mary R. Williams

Mary Riddle Williams

Mary R. Williams, 96, formerly of Lisbon for sixty-five years and Guilford Lake for fifteen, died Wednesday, January 2, 2019 at Copeland Oaks Crandall Medical Center in Sebring, where she resided.

Mrs. Williams was born March 1, 1922 in Lisbon, the only child of the late Lynn R. and Tamar (Lyder) Riddle and granddaughter of Lodge and Mary (Roose) Riddle.

A 1940 graduate of David Anderson High School, Mary earned a degree in business administration from Youngstown State University in 1944, where she served as treasurer of her senior class. Gas rationing during World War II precipitated the transfer during her junior year from what is now known as Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where she played intramural lacrosse and tennis.

Mary worked as a legal secretary for her father, Attorney Lynn Riddle and her grandfather, Judge Lodge Riddle. A mid-life career change from selling fine furniture and jewelry to investing in and selling real estate preceded a late-in-life position with Columbiana County Mental Health. 

A civic leader in Lisbon for more than four decades, Mary was instrumental in the effort to relocate and preserve Lisbon’s historic train depot and the formation of a local hospice (later joined with Hospice of Mahoning County). Having survived two bouts of breast cancer in her fifties, she was committed to encouraging dozens of women recovering from mastectomies by volunteering with the Cancer Society’s “Reach for Recovery“ program for twenty-two years.

Mary served on several boards of trustees: New Lisbon Presbyterian Church; Lisbon Historical Society; Lisbon Community Fund; Lewis Kinney chapter of the DAR; Business and Professional Women’s Group (BPW). Upon her retirement in 1997 at age 75, Mary was honored as BPW’s “Woman of the Year.” 

She is survived by her daughters Sandra Arter of Guilford Lake and Maia (Wyman Rousseau) Williams of Charlotte, NC and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; grandchildren Mila (Michael) Cainey of Charlotte, NC, Nathan Arter of Kent, Ohio, Seth (Ashley) Arter of Guilford Lake, Landon (Tracy) Betsworth of Charlottesville, Virginia, and Jeff (Crystal) Cowen of The Plains, Ohio; nine great grandchildren and her only cousin, Mary Lynn Heim (Harry) Conn of Salem, Ohio. 

Mary’s eldest daughter, Suzanne Tulbure Cowen, died three months after Mary, on March 31, 2019.

Known for her keen intellect, racy sense of humor, beauty and elegance, Mary enjoyed enduring friendships with women and men. 

Mary’s family is hosting a celebration of her life and the life of her daughter, Suzy at the Old School House, 10181 2nd Street, Hanoverton, Ohio 44423 on Saturday, July 6th at 1:00 PM. 

In the spring of 2020, the family will award a scholarship in Mary’s name to a female graduate of DAHS to pursue additional education in the fields of business or law. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Mary and Suzy to the Lisbon Alumni Association at www.lisbonalumni.com.

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