Marilyn June (Emmons) Williams

Marilyn June Williams (Emmons) died June 4 in Beechtree Care Center, Ithaca, after a long illness. She was 82.

Born in Trenton, N.J. June 4, 1934, she graduated from Morrisville (Pa.) High School and Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., the first in her family to graduate from college. She was chosen as a Fulbright Scholar and studied in Ireland before returning to the U.S. to attend New York University, where she earned a doctorate in English literature.

Marilyn retired as an associate dean in the Cornell University College of Arts and Sciences in 2002 after starting work at the university in 1978. In 2000 she was presented with the inaugural Marilyn Emmons Williams Award by the Cornell Undergraduate Research Board. The annual award recognizes contributions to promoting undergraduate research at the university.

Marilyn lived in Ithaca since 1972. Since 1982 she also had a summer home on Cayuga Lake in Romulus, N.Y. Before moving to Ithaca she taught English literature at the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1967.

She was predeceased by her parents, Russell Benjamin Emmons and Ruth Elizabeth Emmons, and her brother, Russell B. Emmons Jr.; her aunt's, Ida Hill and Alice Kalapis and uncle, John Hill.

She is survived by her sons Fred O. Williams III of Silver Spring, Md. and Benjamin Paul Williams of Romulus, N.Y.; daughter-in-law Seragina Valenza; a cousin, Kenneth Hill, of Trenton, N.J., and her ex-husband, Fred O. Williams Jr., of Gaithersburg, Md.

While working as an administrator at Cornell she also taught freshman English literature classes and Before she became ill in 2010 she was working on a scholarly paper about Jane Lumley's translation of Euripides' "Iphigenia at Aulis," the Lumley family, and the education of women in 16th century England.

As part of her role at Cornell she advised undergraduates who were struggling with the demands of university life, helping many stay on track to graduate.

A lover of music as well as literature, she played the organ in her church in Morrisville and continued playing piano at home throughout her life.

Marilyn also loved being at the shore of Cayuga Lake and on the Cornell campus, where she was well known among other teachers and administrators in Goldwin Smith Hall. In her 70s she took up running with the encouragement of her friend Prof. Donald Farley, entering several local footraces. She enjoyed the energy of the race atmosphere and would pick up her pace nearing the finish line, her gray-white hair streaming back, as onlookers applauded and shouted encouragement.

A celebration of Marilyn's life will be held on Thursday, June 09, 2016 at 5 p.m. at the bangs Funeral Home. Friends may call beginning at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Oxfam America.

Visitation prior beginning at 4 p.m.

Thursday, June 09, 2016 5:00 PM

Bangs Funeral Home, Inc. 209 W Green St. Ithaca, New York 14850

Visitation prior beginning at 4 p.m.