Williams EUPHEMIA WILLIAMS was born December 19, 1926 in Westmoreland, the ninth of 13 children in the Wilfred and Adina Daley family.
Her mother was a housewife and her father at various times was a farmer, district constable and bailiff. She attended the St. John's Infant School before transferring to the Enfield and Holly Hill Elementary schools where she passed the First, Second and Third Local examinations. She then pursued tertiary studies at the Moneague Teachers' College. Subsequently, she has taken summer courses in English at the University of the West Indies.
Throughout the years, Mrs. Williams moved through the ranks as a teacher and has been the principal of Beaufort Primary School and Acting Vice-Principal of Lacovia Junior Secondary.
She has also been a Member of Parliament, representing South East Westmoreland from 1981 to 1983. During this time, she was also Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education.
In 1984, she joined the HEART Trust as an inspector counsellor and again moved up the ranks to office manager of the region which en-compassed St. James, Trelawny, Hanover and West-moreland. She retired early due to her husband's illness. He died in 1996. The couple were married in 1955 and had five children.
A hard-working and highly respected public servant, Mrs. Williams has served as vice-chairman of the Spirit Licensing Authority of Westmoreland, chairman of the Darliston Community Consultative Committee, executive member of the Darliston Citizens' Association and the Neighbourhood Watch.
Her commitment to the development of her community is also reflected in her involvement on the board of agencies such as YWCA, Petersville Housecraft Training Centre and the St. John's Infant School Board. She has also been a Justice of the Peace since 1980 and is a lay preacher and people's warden at the St. John's Anglican Church.
For her contribution to community development, Mrs. Williams has been named the 2000 Governor-General Award winner for Westmoreland.
