Henry Edward Williams

Henry Edward Williams, known to many as “Jam,” passed peacefully on April 11, 2026, at the age of 84. He returned home on the same day as his beloved aunt, Anna Ingram, whose love and care shaped his early life.

He was born on February 4, 1942, in Jefferson City, Tennessee to Josephine Harris and Charles Williams. The Manhattan Project deeply impacted Henry’s life, as his mother moved to Oak Ridge for work. Henry was raised by his esteemed Aunt Anna, who ingrained in him a deep sense of pride and civic responsibility. Henry came of age under circumstances that required resilience early in life. After Anna’s sudden removal from his life, his youth was shaped by independence, grit, and learning to find his own way.

Henry was talented, especially in sports. As a teenager, he played baseball with the Oak Ridge Bombers, a Negro League team managed by his stepfather, Robert E. Lee Sr. His path forward was not linear, and like many of his generation, he entered the workforce young, taking on demanding jobs that reflected both necessity and determination.

Over the years, he worked in manufacturing, union labor, and the zinc mines of East Tennessee before becoming a skilled brick mason. His work helped shape the physical landscape of the region, and he earned a reputation as someone who could get the job done and hold his own anywhere he went.

Henry carried himself in a way that made his presence known. He was a man of integrity, grounded in a strong sense of self, and never pretended to be anything other than who he was.

Henry was preceded in death by parents, Charles Edward Williams and Mary Josephine Harris Lee, sisters Mary Frances Mulkey, Bobbi Ann Caldwell, Janice Delores Lee, Jaqueline “Bookie” Lee, and brothers Leroy Williams and Benjamin F. Lee; brothers-in-law Freddie Mulkey, Isaiah “Pete” Caldwell, Ernest Billings, Sr. and sister-in-law Grace Williams, cousins Dora Pittard, Paula Pittard and Jackie Cale, as well as nieces Laura A. Caldwell and Sherri D. Fain, and nephews Jerome Carter, Tony Radical and James Figgs. 

Henry is survived by his wife of 50 years, Nettie Collins Williams; his sons, William Steward (Michelle), Robbie Williams, Andre Williams (Elizabeth); his grandchildren, Dr. Caitlyne, Christian, and Ciara Steward, Sage Miller, Bailey and Kinley Williams, Aiden and Grayson Williams; his great-grandchildren, Elsie and Millie Steward, Carmen Smith, Allie Miller, and Lincoln Kyker.

Henry is also survived by his siblings Gladys Billings of Washington, DC, Dorothy E. Lee of Chattanooga, TN and Belinda Freeman of Oak Ridge, TN; and close cousins Yvonne Pittard of Oak Ridge, TN, Jeffrey Wells and Dr. Carshonda Harris of Nashville, TN.