Gail was born the only girl among four children on August 29, 1950, in Louisiana, to her beloved parents, Alan and Rowena (May) Roberson. She passed away on Friday, September 4, 2026, at Haywood Regional Medical Center.

Gail attended school in Colorado Springs before moving to Tucson, Arizona, where she met the love of her life, Joe Williams, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Gail and Joe were married in Tucson and would go on to share nearly 56 years of marriage together.

Their years in Tucson became some of the most treasured of their lives. They spent their time exploring old Western towns such as Tombstone, Bisbee, and Silver Mines, and enjoying barbecues nearly every night. There were enough stories and memories from those years to fill hours of conversation, and Tucson would forever hold a special place in their hearts.

Amid all those adventures, Gail was also pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher and began her studies at the University of Arizona. Those years were filled with wonderful memories so special that her family would have given anything to experience them all over again.

After Joe completed his service in the United States Air Force, the couple left Arizona and returned to Joe’s hometown of Clyde, North Carolina, bringing their treasured memories of Tucson along with them. They arrived in Clyde late one night, and as Gail looked around her new home, she asked Joe, “Are we there?” “This is it,” Joe told her.

There were no red lights in town at the time—although, as the story goes, Gail was told one was coming. It was quite a change from Tucson, but Clyde became home, and it was there that Gail and Joe built their life together.

Gail continued her education at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, where she completed her degree, an accomplishment that made both Gail and her entire family incredibly proud. She began her teaching career at Nebo and later taught fourth and fifth grades at Waynesville Elementary School.

Education was more than a career for Gail; it was a calling. She eventually pursued her master’s degree and became a school counselor, an accomplishment of which she was especially proud. Earning that degree was no easy task. Many nights found Gail sitting at the family’s six-foot dining room table, nearly every inch covered with books and notes, studying until two or three o’clock in the morning. After only a few hours of rest, she would get right back up and head off to teach school. Her determination spoke volumes about the woman she was and about how deeply she cared for the children and families she served.

For all that Gail accomplished throughout her life, nothing meant more to her than being a mother. Her children, Lee, Melanie, and Anna, held a special place in her heart, and she carried an immense love and pride for each of them.

Gail experienced the unimaginable heartbreak of losing two of her daughters. Through those profound losses, she and Joe found strength in one another, holding close the love, memories, and pride they had for their family.

The last few years were not easy for Gail, nor were they easy for Joe or for the many people who loved her. We so often hear the words, “Life is good,” but life is not always good, and sometimes it asks us to endure more than seems fair. This is one of those times.

Yet, with time, may the sadness of these final years give way to the memories of all the wonderful years that came before them—the adventures in Tucson, the move to Clyde, a dining room table covered with Gail’s notes, a career devoted to helping children, the family she loved so dearly, and nearly 56 years spent alongside the man she loved.

Those are the memories that tell the story of Gail’s life, and those are the memories that will remain with the people who loved her most.

A Funeral Service will be held in Gail's honor at Wells Funeral Home in Canton on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 1:00 PM.  Visitation with the family will be held two hours prior to the service.  There will be no burial at this time.  

The care of Mrs. Williams has been entrusted to Wells Funeral Home of Canton.