Jeannine Andree Williams

Jeannine Andree Williams, 83, passed away in her home after a battle with cancer, on Friday, January 27, 2017. Her funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. this Saturday, February 4th at O’Connor Funeral home followed by a celebration of life at 3D International. Jeannine was born on December 1, 1933, in Niort, France to Abel Raymond and Andree Jeanne Beaujannot. As a young child, in time of war, German soldiers invaded her town. She remembered having the windows from her grandparents' home painted black to avoid any light from spilling out. She once scratched part of the paint off with her nail and a German soldier came into the home and told her not to do it again. Later, she recalled the American soldiers riding in on their tanks after liberating the town and handing out Hershey chocolate bars and packs of American chewing gum. It was her first taste of an American candy bar. After the war, her father passed at an early age. The family stepped in to help and her sister, Francoise, was sent to live with an aunt in a different town. She and her brother, Jean, remained with their mother. She was very close to her brother. They spent a lot of happy times together at their grandmother’s house. Then once again, tragedy would strike. When she was 14 years old, her brother died from an accident. It was a very difficult time for her.However, she had a positive nature and was known as the one who brought sunshine into the family’s life. When she was a young woman, she loved to dance and have fun. She and her best friend, Evelyn, would take the train to La Rochelle to attend dances. She would lose track of time and miss the early evening train and would have to catch the later one. Even though she was 18 years old, her family was very protective and strict and would be waiting for her at the train station. After she attended private school and because she could speak English well, she was hired as a secretary to the Commander of Chize Base in France. It was there that she met her husband, Winfred Payne "Will" Williams. As he stepped off the bus, their eyes met and they began dating almost immediately. They married in Niort, France and shortly after, started a family. When her first child was a little over one years of age and she was carrying her second child, Will received orders to transfer back to the United States. It was then she began another new chapter in her life. As a military wife, she traveled to new destinations every two years. Happily raising 2 daughters and 2 sons across 2 continents; France, Georgia, South Carolina, West Virginia, Germany, Mississippi, New Mexico; the family finally settled in Great Falls, Montana. It was here she went back to work after her children were older and worked until the age of 62 at the Child Care Center on Malmstrom Air Force Base. She made many long lasting friends there and kept in contact with them. What was most important to her, however, was her family. She returned to France often to visit her mother, sister, and aunts. She shared many fond memories with all of her 4 children and grandchildren. There was always someone in the family recounting stories of times spent with her…many of which brought tears of joy and laughter. She was a loving and playful grandmother. The grandkids had stories about “Gramma” as well. She loved taking her grandchildren to the store and telling them, “You like, I buy.“ Always putting others first and never complaining about her problems, she was well known for the phrase, “I’m fine,” and she said it up to her last days here on Earth. She will be fondly remembered as an easy-going, warm, loving woman who was full of life and whole-heartedly believed that in life you have to have fun. She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Will Williams; her sister Francoise Beaujannot, children Nadine (Paul) Haffeman, Patricia (Mark) Stratton, Raymond Williams, Michael (Ursula) Williams; grandchildrenJason McDougal, Brady (Shannon) Watson, Aleana Stratton, Zachary Williams, Jeremy Williams, Brittney Williams, Mariah Williams, and Carson Williams; 4 great grandchildren; and Eric Haffeman and Kaila (Robb) Haffeman Lambrecht.