BIOGRAPHY

Williams was born in Taylor, North Dakota, USA, on 26 June 1912, to parents Frederick William Deeken (1871–1963) and Therese Krueger (1889–1989). Her family were pioneer farmers from Taylor. She had two sisters, including Charlotte Virginia Hutchinson (1920–2010), and one brother, while another brother, Bernhard, died in infancy in 1910. At the age of six, she contracted the Spanish flu during the 1918 pandemic, causing her to miss two years of elementary school. Even as a young student, she was invited to participate in all the high school plays due to her exceptional ability to memorize lines. In high school, she realized she had a remarkable memory for places, numbers, and names.

After graduating from secretarial school in Illinois, she followed her brother to Los Angeles. In California, she initially worked as a housekeeper, then as a bookkeeper. She met her first husband, Roy Asher, at a dance hall in 1937. Together they opened a small grocery store in Los Angeles. Roy managed the store for almost 30 years, while she operated the cash register and sold her freshly baked bread for ten cents a loaf, along with cinnamon rolls for twenty-five cents each. Roy passed away in 1965.

After her husband’s passing, she continued working as a bookkeeper and diligently saved her earnings. In 1966, she married Fred Williams, and together they traveled extensively, both abroad and across the United States, often in a 20-foot travel trailer. Fred passed away in 1991. She had no children from either marriage.

Williams never smoked, didn’t take vitamins, but was always an enthusiastic exerciser. On her 110th birthday, she received a special surprise from the Anaheim Fire Department—a ride on their Hook and Ladder fire truck.

Connie Williams passed away at Emerald Court assisted living in Anaheim, Orange County, California, USA, on 10 December 2022, at the age of 110 years, 167 days.

RECOGNITION

Her age has not been validated.

ATTRIBUTION

* Frederick William Deeken – Find A Grave

* “Anaheim woman shares her secret to a long life on her 109th birthday” – ABC7 Los Angeles, 30 June 2021

* “Orange County’s oldest resident on record celebrates her 110th birthday” – Orange County Register, 16 July 2022

* Concordia Williams Obituary – Orange County Register, 22 January 2023

GALLERY