Fennette J. Williams

Fennette J. Williams, 91, of Keedysville, Maryland (formerly of Hagerstown, MD and Myrtle Beach, SC) went to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at her home.  Born on June 24, 1932 in Gerrardstown, West Virginia, she was the daughter of the late Anthony Braithwaite and Mamie Catherine (Hess) Braithwaite.  Her husband, James A. Williams, Jr., preceded her in death.

Fennette (known as “Nana” to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren) was in the first graduating class of Mt. Aetna Academy (now Highland View Academy), class of 1950, and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hagerstown, Maryland and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Jim and Fennette were the first couple to be married in the Hagerstown Seventh-Day Adventist Church on August 7, 1955.  They were pillars of their churches where they spent much time helping to build of new churches, serving as both deacon, deaconess, teaching the children in Sabbath school, and many other projects or services as devoted members of their church.

Fennette graduated with a BS in Nursing in 1954 from Washington Missionary College (now Washington Adventist University) in Takoma Park, Maryland.  She later earned a Master’s in Education from Shippensburg University in Shippensburg, PA. She began her nursing career at the Washington Adventist Hospital and later joined the nursing staff at the Baker Veterans Administration Center in Martinsburg, WV, before joining the staff at Kings Daughter Hospital in Martinsburg, WV.  She co-founded the Licensed Practical Nursing program at Hagerstown Community College (formerly Hagerstown Junior College).  The LPN program later moved from HCC to the new Washington County Vocational Technical Center where she continued this successful program.  In 1986, she transitioned from the LPN program upon the request to help organize the Health Occupations program at the VocTech Center.  Fennette was named the Washington County and the State of Maryland’s 1991-1992 Teacher of the Year.  She retired from teaching in 1992. She was a staunch believer in education and took great pride in preparing students to be successful in the health care profession.  Many Washington County nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists and other medical personnel trace their career roots back to the teaching of Fennette J. Williams.

She will be deeply missed by her two daughters Sherrie W. Martin and Susan W. Erb, their husbands, Randy Martin and David Erb and grandchildren, Rebecca Prendergast and husband Tim Prendergast, James Nicholas Martin and wife Hannah Martin, Nathaniel Erb, and Caroline Pamukcu and husband Deniz Pamukcu; and great-grandchildren, Henrick Olsen, Olivia Olsen, William Prendergast, and James Prendergast.

She is survived by her brother Thomas L. Braithwaite and was preceded in death by her brothers Clayton Braithwaite, Trammell Braithwaite and sister, Juanita (Braithwaite) Light.
A celebration of Fennette’s life journey will take place at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 8, 2023 at the Hagerstown Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 11507 Robinwood Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740.     
Donations in her memory can be made to the Hospice of Washington County, 1710 Underpass Way, Suite 300, Hagerstown, MD 21740.