Chris S. Williams

Marion - Chris S. Williams, 28, passed away on Tuesday, June 24, 2014 in Evansville, IN from injuries sustained as a result of an auto accident. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 at Lakeland Baptist Church, 719 S. Giant City Road, Carbondale, with David Fletcher, Tyler Glodjo and Josh Williams officiating. Visitation will be held from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at the church. Interment will be at Oakland Cemetery in Carbondale. Memorial donations are the preferred form of remembrance and may be made to Aimee Williams, for the African Christian Tours and Safari and will be accepted by Meredith Funeral Home of Carbondale. Chris was born on October 19, 1985 at Charleston, SC to Todd S. and Charlene L. (Caldwell) Williams. At the age of 12, Chris was attending church with his family when the Lord began to work on his heart, impressing on him his need for forgiveness. At home one night, he asked Christ to forgive him for his wrongdoing and to come live inside his heart. As he got older, his understanding of the Bible and of God's love only grew deeper and stronger. Chris was known to be an entertaining guy who loved to laugh. He loved to make people laugh, but not at the expense of others. He was a master of witty one-liners that had people laughing till they cried. He often used humor in stressful situations to break up the tension. He graduated from Marion High School in 2004, where he enjoyed theater, art and mass media. Chris was a talented actor and had a great TV/radio personality. Beginning in high school, Chris worked at two different local radio stations. This led him to major in Cinematography when he went to college, first at John A. Logan and then at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale). He graduated with his bachelor's degree in May 2009. In 2003, Chris began dating Aimee White, a pastor's daughter from the Carbondale area. They initially met through volunteer work at church in 2000, then became reacquainted in '03. They were seventeen and fell for each other quickly. Chris was Aimee's first kiss. On June 10th, 2006 they united in marriage at Center Baptist Church in Crab Orchard, in the very room where they first met at the age of fourteen. Chris never met a stranger. New people were simply friends he hadn't met yet. It was common for him to strike up conversations with people he didn't know wherever he happened to be. Chris had a heart for others, both locally and around the world. He said, "We need to start using things and loving people rather than loving things and using people." He and his wife went on a church mission trip to Zimbabwe in 2006 shortly after their wedding, instead of taking a traditional honeymoon. In July 2013, he went on another church mission trip, this time to Haiti. On January 31st, 2013, Chris and Aimee welcomed their first child, Abigale. When she was born, tears streamed down his face and he was beaming with love for his tiny baby girl. They were best friends. On February 12th, 2014, Chris and Aimee had a miscarriage, which broke their hearts but did not shake their faith. On March 17th, much to their joy, they again learned they were expecting. The newest addition is due to arrive in November. Besides his wife Aimee, other survivors include their daughter, Abigale Madlyn Williams of Marion; parents Charlene Williams of Marion and Todd Williams of Johnston City; brother Joshua Norman (Dominique) Williams of Johnston City; sister Kathrine (Jared) Barger, Marion; grandparents Norman Caldwell of McLeansboro, Marilyn and Andrew Thomson of Marion, and Bobbie and Leonard Newcomb of Centralia; mother-in-law Pam White of Makanda; brother-in-law Michael White of Makanda; and sister-in-law Laurel White of Makanda. Christopher was preceded in death by their baby; grandfather Gale Williams; father-in-law Sam White; and cousin Nathan Williams. Chris was a member of Third Baptist Church from 1999 until 2014. He began serving in ministry with the youth group in 2007, teaching Sunday School and chaperoning trips. He spent a lot of time with the teens mentoring them and teaching them how to live out their faith. In May of 2014, he was called to be the youth minister at LivingStone Community Church in New Dennison. In his few weeks there, he really enjoyed getting to know the teens and teaching them more about the Lord. One of Chris' ministries was inviting teens over from church to play board games at his house. They truly knew his love for them through things like this. Chris used his talents to serve veterans as a delivery technician for Home Care Equipment in Marion. A quote Chris loved and would want to leave with us is this: "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."--C. S. Lewis Chris went to that other world--to heaven. He beat us there and got to meet his Savior face to face. He was a man who truly practiced what he preached, and unsurprisingly, died while in the service of the Lord.



Service:



11:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 2 ,2014



Lakeland Baptist Church 719 S. Giant City Road Carbondale, Illinois







Visitation:



4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 1, 2014



Lakeland Baptist Church 719 S. Giant City Road Carbondale, Illinois