Jeanette Anne Williams

Jeanette Anne Williams passed away peacefully at Brooks-Howell Home in Asheville, North Carolina, on July 23 at the age of 85. Jeanette was born in Linn Creek, Missouri to Lowell and Elsie Williams in 1940. An active youth leader in the 4H and the Methodist church, Jeanette grew up the eldest of four siblings and graduated top of her class to attend Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri. She discerned a call to missionary service and was trained at Scarritt College in Nashville, Tennessee, where she participated in civil rights actions in her community. After teaching at Allen High School in Asheville, North Carolina, Jeanette was assigned in 1964 by the Women’s Division of the Board of Global Ministries as a long term Methodist missionary to Taiwan, where she taught English and served as a guidance counselor at Wesley Girls School in Taipei. In the midst of her missionary service, she also returned stateside to receive further education, earning a masters degree at Columbia Teachers College in New York City in 1970 and, later, her PhD in Psychology at the University of Missouri - Columbia in 1978. After earning her doctorate, Jeanette returned to Taiwan to teach sociology and establish the counseling center at Soochow University in Taipei. She married John Chung-Liang I, and the couple soon became parents. The family moved to the United States in 1984, which concluded her 20 years of formal service as a Methodist missionary. Back in her home state of Missouri, Jeanette became a well-respected child psychologist in Camdenton and Jefferson City and, eventually, a loving foster and adoptive parent. In 2003, the Taiwan Methodist Church celebrated its 50th anniversary and honored Jeanette for her many years of missionary service in Taiwan. All that Jeanette did, whether teaching, counseling, cherishing her family, or leading Vacation Bible School, was done in the service and praise of God. She touched countless lives, and the students who learned from her in Taiwan have gone on to become impactful leaders. Her family and clients will never forget her wisdom, generosity, and gooseberry pie. Jeanette spent her final years among the incredible colleagues and staff of Brooks-Howell Home in Asheville. She is predeceased by her parents, Lowell and Elsie Williams, her brother, Royce Williams, and former spouse, John Chung-Liang I. She is survived by her sisters, Vanetta Habeger and Joy Milham, sister-in-law, Lauri Coppotelli, her daughters, Vicki Flippin and Heather Williams, son-in-law, Thomas Flippin, granddaughter, Nia Flippin, nine loving nieces and nephews, and many other family, students, foster children, clients, and the community of United Women in Faith. Jeanette’s funeral arrangements were handled by Morris Funeral & Cremation Care in Asheville. A Celebration of Life was held at Brooks-Howell Home on Thursday, July 24 at 3pm, and a private burial service will be held at a later date in Missouri. In lieu of flowers, the family invites memorial donations to Brooks-Howell Home or your local chapter of United Women in Faith.

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Jeanette Anne Williams

February 19, 1940 - July 23, 2025