Mother Alberta Williams Rowell of 706 Brooklyn Terrace, Americus, Georgia, died Thursday, October 2, 2025, at her residence.

The funeral service will be held Saturday, October 11, 2025, at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary of the Big Bethel Baptist Church in Americus, Georgia.  The burial will follow at Staley Memorial Garden in Americus, Georgia.

Alberta Williams Rowell was born the youngest of six siblings to the late John Williams and Sallie Lue Harris Williams on April 13, 1937, in Auburn, AL.

She married James Franklin Rowell Sr. on February 17, 1957.  They moved to Americus to begin a new life and continue to grow their family, with children, Pamela, Lawrence, Thaddeus, and Penelope. They were married for 28 years.

Alberta matriculated through school in Auburn and graduated from Lee County Training School in 1956.  She was a faithful member of Green Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. While in    Auburn, she worked as a domestic aide cooking, cleaning, and caring for children.  She also worked in housekeeping at Lee County Hospital in Auburn before moving to Americus with her husband James and daughter Pamela.  She also worked at Carters' Cleaners and a local dentist office in Americus  before beginning her tenure with the school system.

Alberta worked for Americus City School System for over 38 years from 1963-2002.  She worked  initially as a cook and later became a manager for the majority of her tenure with the system, feeding thousands of students.  When the students became adults and they saw her around town, they would complement and thank her for the delicious lunch meals.  She worked at the Historic Furlow School, Eastview Elementary, and Americus High, before retiring from Staley Middle School.  She would  attend the annual School Food Service Conventions in Jekyll Island and various other Georgia cities.  She completed several continuing education classes and courses for Food and Nutrition Services.  She received certificates of completion for doing so.  In her profession, she taught the workers to cook, how to problem-solve, and how to substitute when they ran out of ingredients.

She was a member of Big Bethel Missionary Baptist Church for over 60 years and served as a Deaconess.  Being the eldest member in the church, she became the Mother of the Church.  She faithfully attended until her health declined.  She was also a founding member of the Social Hour Club; a member of the Joyette Club, and the Georgia School Nutrition Association.

Her favorite pastimes were cooking for herself and others, watching TV, word-search books, shopping at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, traveling sitting in her yard, and telling people what to do. Her  cooking was highly regarded amongst those that she knew.  She often expressed her love for others through her gift of cooking.  She frequently catered for meetings, family reunions, and other events.  Community members would rave about her chitterlings, cornbread dressing with gravy and desserts.  She would often get phone calls from family and friends for cooking tips, ideas and for step-by-step instructions/directions on how to cook certain dishes.

She loved her family and would look forward to visiting them in Warren OH, Detroit, Syracuse, Auburn, and Macon.  For some of them, as soon as she arrived at their homes, they would allow her to cook all meals for the duration of her stay.   She also enjoyed hosting all of them when they came to Americus to visit her.  She welcomed them to a clean house and a smorgasbord of food as soon as they walked through the door, and for the duration of their stays.  All that visited her home knew that the house would be immaculate and that they would eat and rest well.  The meals were so good that the next best thing after eating was a nap.

She loved and adored her grandchildren & great-grandchildren.  She would play UNO & Checkers with them and would win every time.  She looked forward to hosting them after school, during spring break, summer vacation, and during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.  They too had a smorgasbord of food and snacks each day.  She would load them all, sometimes 3-7 of them at a time, in her car to visit her friends, the nursing home, or to the park to play.

In addition to her parents, John & Sallie Lue Williams, she is preceded in death by her sons, Sgt.    Lawrence Rowell and Dr. Thaddeus Rowell, six siblings, Johnnie Mae Bryant Askew, J.C. Bryant (Vilittie), Ernest Bryant, Sam Williams (Leila), George Williams (Eva Mae), Johnnie Pearl Williams Pugh (Arthur).

Left to cherish her memories are: children, Pamela Williams (Tommy) and Minister Penelope Ivey Woods (Harold); grandchildren: Derrick Swain (Thaleigha) of Austell, GA, Shantrelle Thomas, Sr. ((Tannica) of Warner Robins, GA, Lavarus Rowell (Tenia Boone) of Americus, GA, Tonada Andrews of Fort Worth, TX, Taralyn Tobias (Tony) of Huntsville, AL, Spencer Ivey, Charity Ivey, Destiny Ivey, all of Decatur, GA, Taylon Rowell of Vicksburg MS, Mikaela Rowell of Fort Worth, TX;  great-grandchildren: Dominique Swain, Delta Swain, and Duke Swain all of Austell, GA, NaShayla Thomas, Shantrelle Thomas, Jr. & Sha'Ziyah Thomas all of Warner Robins, GA, Lakyran Rowell of Atlanta, GA, Raven Rowell of Albany, GA, Lakayden Rowell and Cameron Rowell of Americus, GA, Titus Rowell, Tyson Rowell, and Taliyah Tobias of Huntsville, AL; great-great grandchildren: Koada Swain-Elliot of Austell, GA and Kyson Rowell of Atlanta, GA; sister and brother-in-law, Apostle   Helen Felton of Auburn, AL and Dr. Charles Rowell of College Station, TX; nieces & nephews, Melvin Askew (Elease) of Charlotte, NC, Juanita Bryant and  David Bryant of Warren, OH, Cornelius Pugh and Ricky Pugh of Detroit MI; daughters-in-law: Leslie Rowell, Americus, GA (her nurse when Penny wasn't home) and Teandrea Rowell of Vicksburg, MS; favorite cousin, Mildred Brooks of Auburn, AL; godsons: Curtis Iverson (Yvonne), Marcus Chatman, Dan Westbrook, all of Americus, GA; godchildren, Kamecha and Elias Sims; forever friends: Vivian Lewis of San Francisco, CA, Vereen Evans of Powder Springs, GA, and Doris Perry of New Brunswick, NJ; her Big Bethel Church family, Silver Sneakers Friends, Gentiva Hospice Caregivers, Private Duty Caregivers, neighbors: Louise Edwards, Dave and Shonda Green, Rodney Tyson, David Sims and the Eastview Drive neighborhood and other sorrowing family and friends to cherish her memory.