HomeMy WebLinkAboutEleanor Toliver Obituary - AnchorageEleanor Toliver-Williams
Eleanor Joyce Toliver-Williams went home to be with the Lord in College Station, Texas, on
Good Friday, April 22, 2011, surrounded by loved ones.
Eleanor was born Dec. 21, 1936, to Jack and Viola Ford-Toliver, in Texas.
A memorial service will be at Shiloh Baptist Church, 855 E. 20th Avenue, May 9, 2011, from
12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. A repast follows in the Shiloh gym.
Eleanor accepted Christ at an early age and she stayed the course and introduced as many
to Jesus Christ as her time on this Earth allowed. Upon graduating from high school, where
she earned a full academic scholarship, she attended Prairie View A&M. She began each
day reading the Bible and her daily Word; she then read the newspaper from front to back.
Eleanor enjoyed all sports, watching them on television or live as often as she could; she
would be the mother in the crowd that everyone could hear.
In 1955 she married Tollie Williams Jr., and of the union she was blessed with 7 beautiful children.
When her father passed, she then moved to Alaska in 1963 to be close to her older sister, Vanee
Robinson. Thus the journey begins.
In 1965, Eleanor began her career at Federal Aviation Administration, cleaning the building -- no job too small. She
then moved to the steno pool and on to become the first African-American woman to certify as an air traffic controller
at the Anchorage Air Route Traffic Control Center, in 1971. In 1976 it was verified and found to be true that she was
the first African-American to certify, at which time she was entered into the United States history books. Her legacy
did not stop there; this was merely a stepping-stone. She went on to become the first African-American woman to
head up a major
en-route facility in 1994, at the Cleveland ARTCC in Oberlin, Ohio, the nation's second-busiest en-route air traffic
control facility.
She was inducted into the Black Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001, along with such greats as Alfred C. Anderson and
several other Tuskegee Airmen.
She was one of the first presidents of the Alaska Chapter of the Business and Professional Women. She is listed in
the 104th Congressional Record, "Who's Who in the World," "Who's Who in America" and "Who's Who of American
Women."
Eleanor received many awards: Department of Transportation Secretary's Award for Excellence in EEO, 1985;
National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees C. Alfred Anderson Award, 1991; Texas Youth Advocate of
the Year by Commission of Alcohol & Drug Abuse, 2001; North to the Future BPW Club's Woman of the Year, 2006;
Proclamation of the Bronze Eagle, renamed the Eleanor J. Williams Bronze Eagle Award, 2011.
She was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, friend, leader, mentor and a true child of
God. She was committed to teaching, preaching and reaching out to as many as would listen. A true pillar in every
community in which she lived, she left her mark where ever she went. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, she
was always in a teaching mode, and as she learned she would share her knowledge with others. She believed that
what God has for her, He has for her and what He has for others, He has for them, and if you could reach out and
touch one person you can make a difference. "You cannot be stopped, if you are willing to keep trying," she would
say.
Her quote of late was "I am too old to die young; I have lived a long full life."
Let us all learn to get along and work together."
She is survived by her seven children, Rodrick L. (Washington), Viola Kaye Smith, Darryl D., Eric R. and
Kenneth R. (Alaska), Dana D. and Sheila Anne (Texas); 23 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; sisters, Vanee
Robinson, Iris J. Scott, Marjorie Thompson (Lee) and Mary N. Maddox; uncle, Alandrus Peterson; aunt, Christine
Ford-Jenkins; a host of nieces and nephews, many cousins and many, many friends and close associates.
Eleanor was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Robert Toliver; ex-husband Tollie
Williams Jr.; two grandsons, Marcus Larry Watkins and Robert London Smith III; and many nephews
and nieces, Larry Toliver, Darnell Toliver and Vanee M. Marshall, to name a few.
Eleanor's grandson, Marcus Larry Watkins, was laid to rest with her April 30, 2011.
Published in adn.com from May 6 to May 10, 2011
Read more: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/adn/obituary.aspx?n=eleanor-toliver-
williams&pid=150821996#ixzz1LrSSRbzT