Fond memories remain

Family, school recall special moments

Hannah Emmaline Williams was described by her friends as encouraging, kind and spontaneous. She was known for knocking on the doors of individuals on her hall, just to check in and see how they were doing.

Williams

Hannah, 18, died in a train accident the night of Nov. 17, and those attributes are ones that Hannah’s Spiritual Life Director (SLD) and friend Camille Chuks, 21, said people will miss about her. According to multiple sources, Williams and four other Liberty students were on the railroad trestle that spans over the James River in Amherst County, Va., stargazing, when a train struck the 18-year-old.

Hannah was born on April 6, 1993 in Chapel Hill to parents Terri Williams and Jonathan Hayes Williams. She lived in Sanford, N.C., before starting as a freshman at Liberty University in the fall of 2011. She went to high school at Grace Christian School where she served as the Student Body President her senior year and participated in many plays, according to an obituary for Hannah on the Bridges- Cameron Funeral Home website.

According to a quote in the Sanford Herald by Bill Carver, the headmaster at Grace Christian school, “She was witty and delightful and a strong Christian… She was an excellent student academically. She was interested in drama. She was an excellent writer and speaker. She had won some awards because of her writing and speaking skills.”

At Liberty, Hannah was majoring in government and journalism and was a hall representative for the Student Government Association. She was part of a group of students from Liberty who traveled to New York in October to help with disaster relief after Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

On Friday, Nov. 18, Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. issued a statement that addressed the death of Williams.

“Hannah Williams made Liberty University proud in her short time as a student here,” Falwell said in the statement. “Her tragic death is a great loss, not only to her family, but to our university community as well.”

As Hannah’s SLD on C-2 Even on the Annex, Chuks had the opportunity to be a good spiritual influence in her life throughout the semester.

“We would always have good spiritual conversations, and she respected me as an SLD,” Chucks said. “And we became close friends through that…. She was very encouraging. Even when I thought I was doing my best to encourage her as an SLD, she was the one that was encouraging me, which I thought was awesome.”

Chuks said that Hannah was known on the hall as outgoing, enthusiastic and involved. She participated in almost all activities, and when it came time to dress up for hall meeting, each prayer group in a specific color, Hannah outdid everyone.

“She loved getting to know people,” Chuks said. “She loved you for who you were. She didn’t care if you were the meanest person or the nicest person, she didn’t care if you were stuck up or stubborn, she loved you for who you were. She was very strong in her beliefs.”

A funeral was held for Hannah in her hometown Tuesday, Nov. 22, and Liberty had a service at Thomas Road Baptist Church for her Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Terri attended the service and, “shared memories of her daughter, including the opportunity to help her begin a relationship with the Lord,” according to the Liberty News Service.

“Thank you for the little education she got here at Liberty. She loved it,” Terri is quoted to have said by the Liberty News Service. “I can find comfort because I know where she is — absent from the body and present with the Lord. But you know, there’s a day when I will see her again.”

Chuks said that Hannah’s mother has exemplified strength and resiliency throughout the tragedy, and people have been saved and had their lives rededicated to the Lord.

“I know that her purpose was to serve the Lord,” Chuks said. “She had a life dedicated to the Lord. Even through her death, the Lord is still using her.”

According to the Bridges-Cameron Funeral Home, Williams is survived by brothers Jonathan Sawyer, Shiloh and Noah, and sisters Pricilla, Naomi and Charity.

“In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Hannah Williams Scholarship Fund, P. O. Box 4713, Sanford, NC 27331,” The Bridges-Cameron Funeral Home website states.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *