Obituary of Elaine K. Williams

Elaine (Kolodziej) Williams, 87, died Sunday, May 25, 2025 after bravely struggling with Parkinson’s disease during her final years.  She was the beloved wife for 55 years of the late Jack Williams. Elaine was born in New Britain, the daughter of the late Leo and Pearl (Perzan) Kolodziej. She grew up in New Britain and graduated from New Britain High School in 1955. Elaine and Jack lived for many years and raised their family in East Hartford. They moved to Mystic in 1982 and spent many happy years there. They were also winter residents of North Palm Beach, FL for 12 years, and after Jack’s death, Elaine moved to Glastonbury. She was a Social Studies teacher at Penney High School in East Hartford for nearly 30 years. She had a passion for history and was highly regarded by her students and fellow teachers. Elaine will be remembered for her sociability, making friends wherever she went.  She was deeply interested in people and would learn someone’s life story within the first ten minutes of meeting them. She was an avid reader and had an amazing memory for details and facts. Elaine and Jack were lifelong boaters and loved spending time on the water. Their boating adventures took her from Canada to Bermuda and included five winters in Florida living aboard "Ariel". Elaine is survived by her two sons, Michael and his wife Maureen Williams of Glastonbury, and Douglas Williams and his partner Lisa Linn of Canton; her sisters, Joanne Ronstrom and her husband Bob of Plainville, CT, Noreen Adams and her husband Tom of Prospect, CT, and Darlene Steffen and her husband Michael of Moline IL; her grandchildren, Stephanie, Annie, and Tyler Williams; and her great granddaughter Flora Kennedy. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her grandsons Ryan and Patrick Williams. Family and friends may call at the Mulryan Funeral Home, 725 Hebron Ave., Glastonbury on Friday, June 27th from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the CT Children's Medical Center, 282 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106. For online condolences, please visit www.mulryanfh.com.