Robbie McCaghren Williams
Nov. 25, 1923-Sept. 9, 2015

Robbie McCaghren Williams departed this life on September 9, 2015, at the age of nearly 92, in Houston, Texas, her home since 1956.
Ms. Williams was born on Nov. 25, 1923, to Lee McPherson McCaghren and Robert U. McCaghren in Abbott, TX, the sixth of their seven children. The family subsequently relocated to Jean, TX, when Robbie was very small, and she attended school first in the small six-room schoolhouse there in Jean (a thriving small agricultural community at the time), and ultimately graduated from Olney HS in 1943.
Robbie moved with her younger sister, Patsy to Wichita Falls after their high school graduations, to stay with her older sister, Eva Pearl McCaghren Bishop, while Eva's husband, Mack Jerome, was serving in the military. Robbie soon found her calling working for "The Telephone Company" in Wichita Falls, starting a career that would take her through a variety of "Baby Bell's" and ultimately ATT, and that lasted until her retirement in 1991. She had completed at that time about 46 years of uninterrupted service. This included times during the Second World War where she worked a split shiftworking four hours in the morning, going home for four hours, then back for four hours. In her family, Robbie and "The Telephone Company" soon came to be synonymous. She was a dependable, devoted, dedicated and hardworking employee. Upon retirement, she maintained participation until her health failed with the Bell Telephone/ATT Pioneer organization, a telecommunications industry service and social organization. She was also a proud member of the Communication Workers of America labor union during her working days.
Robbie became the bride of Claude W. Williams, also of Jean, TX, on March 23, 1946, while Claude was on active duty in the U.S. Navy. Claude's post-war duty stations took them to Alaska, San Francisco, and Seattle. Afterwards, they return to Texas, residing in Midland, then in Houston. Throughout her moves, she always continued her employment with "The Telephone Company." Robbie also found a church home in Houston's First United Methodist Church.
Robbie and Claude enjoyed time with numerous friends and family members over the years. Robbie was especially delighted when a work transfer brought her younger sister Patsy and brother-in-law Robert Evans and their son to Houston in 1969. She was a devoted sister and part-time caregiver to Patsy in later years when Patsy fought ovarian cancer until her death in 1981. Through all these years, good times and bad times, "The Telephone Company" was Robbie's rock.
After her husband died in 1999, Robbie continued to reside in their southeast Houston home, enjoying friendships and family. She was known to befriend any and every cat that needed a home, food, and/or medical attention, and self-described as a cat lady. She was known for the colorful names she choose for these pet companions, including Pepe, Possum, Ah-Poo, Kiwi, Stormin' Norman (Schwartzkopf) among many others. Many a stray cat that would otherwise never have known a home or love, found such with Robbie over the years, along with a full stomach. Robbie supported numerous animal charities over her life, and her grocery cart often had more cat food in it that people food. No hungry, homeless and/or sick cat ever crossed Robbie's path and stayed that way.
Robbie loved to readthe daily newspaper, magazines and books of all varieties. She had eagerly awaited the recent publication of the sequel of "To Kill a Mockingbird," and it along with Anne Tyler's "A Spool of Blue Thread" were the last two books she read before passing away. Robbie loved not only fiction and biographies as well as chatty gossip magazines and tabloids, but also the Houston Chronicle and the New Yorker Magazine.
In remembering Robbie, her friends and family will undoubtedly recall her quick wit, her sense of drama and the absurd, her love of cats, "The Telephone Company," her prodigious capacity for consuming print media of all types, her love of chocolate (milk not dark), her devotion to her husband and family, and her love of shopping. She was known in her family for finding just the right gifts for her many nieces and nephews, viewing Christmas shopping as her favorite sport.
As her health declined over the past approximately 6 years, Robbie made her home first at Garden Terrace in Houston, then at Solera at West Houston. Her family wishes to express its sincere appreciation to the staffs of those facilities for their kind and dedicated care over the years. The saying is "it takes a village," and Robbie's "village" rallied round her during these years: nieces Sarah McCaghren, Carla Cole and Sharon Latimer visited, handled financial and legal affairs, consulted regarding medical issues, and kept the mail and reading materials flowing to Robbie from Day 1. Her nephew, Mark Evans, was the "on the ground" person in Houston, checking in by visiting Robbie at least once a week, taking her to the ER and other medical appointments, getting her out during the early days when her mobility was better, and also keeping her in snacks, clothes, Dr Peppers (her favorite), and reading materials as well. Robbie had no children of her own, but her family stepped in where children normally would. Sister-in-law Sue Williams Grubbs and her family members also kept Robbie supplied with goodies and mail over the years, as well as visits, and Sue's church was an ongoing source of prayer and mail for Robbie as well.
Robbie's "village" also included both old and new friends during her last years: Dr. Susan Gainer was a frequent visitor from Dallas-Fort Worth, and assisted Mark in keeping Robbie supplied with numerous necessities. Susan visited Robbie just 2 days before she passed away. Thomas Strauss-Macaulay was a good friend to Robbie over many years, overseeing and doing (for free) numerous repairs/remodeling to her aging home, accompanying Robbie to the Dept.of Motor Vehicles for an ID card, sending her meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas, and taking in cats when Robbie had to leave her home for skilled care. Tom was there. Leann Witmer and Nancy Huang were new friends to Robbie during the last few years she was alive, and she shared the joy of their pregnancies and births of their children this past year. She delighted in their visits.
No mention of Robbie's friends is complete without that of Rosendo Rodriguez of Houston. He was there for Robbie before and after her health declined, and was truly a rock that she could always depend on and whom Mark and the other relatives also soon came rely on in caring for Robbie. Whether it was rescuing Robbie after a car accident on a high Houston overpass late at night when she and Mark were returning to her nursing home after an ER visit, fixing her television, helping take care of her home, adopting one of her cats, Rosendo was always there. Never has anyone had a better friend. It did take a village.

Robbie is preceded in death by her parents, husband, and all six of her siblings (Lora Downey, Odell McCaghren, Pauline Cole, Eva Bishop, William Ulric McCaghren and Patricia Evans). She is survived by her sister-in-law (who was a true sister to her), Sue Williams Grubbs of Palestine, TX. She is also survived by sister-in-law Vaunciel Albin-Evans of Wichita Falls, in addition to numerous nieces and nephews, all of whom were like children to Robbie.
In lieu of flowers or other remembrances, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL, 60601-7633 (www.alz.org).
A memorial service is scheduled to be held at the Jean United Methodist Church, Jean, TX on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 beginning at one p.m. with interment of ashes to follow in the Jean Cemetery immediately following. Services are under the direction of (and additional information may be found through) Lunn Funeral Home, Olney, TX.