Woman comes to rally's end

For as long as she can remember, Judy Williams of Oneonta has been praying the Rosary every day.

The habit began when she was a child in the Philippines, and she prayed with her mother, father and seven siblings. Today, at 75, she can still recall the early morning ritual.

"We would rise at 3 a.m. to the ringing of the church bell," she recalled, "and our entire family would pray the Rosary."

Sad childhood

Mrs. Williams, a parishioner of St. Mary's Church in Oneonta, recalls other events of her childhood, but they are painful memories.

She and her siblings were orphaned when she was ten or eleven. Her father died first, and her mother followed within a year. Her oldest brother quit school at 17 in order to work to support the family. The youngest child, a baby of six months, was her responsibility.

"I became a mother to that baby," she said.

Looking for help

Finding guidance, support and love from her extended family was difficult. Aunts and uncles did the best they could; but, Mrs. Williams said, everyone was poor, and life in the Philippines during the 1930s was hard.

Eventually, she turned to someone she knew could help her, someone she'd known intimately for her entire life: the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"That's really when my devotion to Our Lady began," she said.

Marriage

World War II brought her future husband, Neal, to the Philippines as an American soldier. When the war was over, he brought her to Oneonta.

"It was like a miracle for me to come to America," she said, noting that she never thought she would leave the Philippines.

She kept praying the daily Rosary and met others who did the same. Soon, she was among those who formed a Rosary group in the parish.

Rosary rally

In 1985, Mrs. Williams and her husband decided to hold a prayer rally at their home. Local media advertised it as a Rosary rally, and more than 100 people showed up.

Each year since, a rally has been held at the Williamses' home, and her devotion to Mary has grown, so much so that five or six years after the rallies started, she wrote a book, "Mother, Touch Me."

In it, she described her devotion to Mary and to another "mother" who had entered her life, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.

Shrine

That year also brought near tragedy when the Williamses almost lost their home in a bad storm. The house was flooded and all their furniture was destroyed, but one of the few items they found intact was a copy of Mrs. Williams' book, floating on the floodwaters in her living room.

"I knew then I was going to build a shrine to Our Lady of Fatima on the lawn, something I had been thinking about doing for a couple of years," she said.

The shrine became the focal point of the annual Rosary rally.

Final rally

The rally is usually held in October, the traditional month of the Rosary. This year, however, it will be held on May 31 for a special reason.

"My husband recently suffered a stroke," she explained; "and because of his continuing illness, we've decided to sell our home and move to Tucson to be closer to our son and his family."

Since this Rosary rally will be the last for the Williamses in Oneonta, Mrs. Williams finds it a bittersweet time. But she knows that her deep devotion to Mary -- the only mother she said she has really ever known -- will see her through.

"We have been through a lot this year," she said. "The parishioners of St. Mary's have been wonderful, and so supportive during my husband's illness and recovery. We have received many prayers from so many people. I am very grateful to everyone."

(The Oneonta chapter of the Knights of Columbus has decided to sponsor the annual Rosary rally. On the first Sunday of October, the 19th rally will take place, continuing the Williamses' tradition. Judy Williams' shrine will be moved to a new location. For information on the October rally, call St. Mary's parish at 607-432-3920.)

(5/29/03) [[In-content Ad]]