Fay Williams Jr.

Fay “Willy” Williams Jr., of Buena Vista, passed away peacefully on May 17 at Centre Avenue Health and Rehab Facility in Fort Collins.

Per his wishes, he will be cremated and a rosary held on Sunday night, May 23, with a mass on Monday, May 24, at the St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church at 118 S. Gunnison Ave., Buena Vista. A luncheon will follow at Jans.

Fay Williams Jr. was born on Sept 25, 1938 in Rigby, Idaho, to Margaret and Calvin Fay Williams Sr. and baptized into the Catholic faith. He held on to that faith his entire life.

His father, Calvin, passed away when he was less than 2 months old and Fay was then raised by his stepfather Dewitt “Dewy” Fox. Dewy moved the family to Monte Vista in Fay’s early years.

He graduated from Monte Vista High School in 1958 and went on to work for John Deere as a tractor mechanic, developing a good relationship with many farmers in the local area. This allowed him to become an avid bird hunter, using the local farmers’ land. He also served several years in the National Guard and, as a private, even drove generals around the base.

Fay went on to marry Theodora R. Downs in December of 1960. He worked several construction jobs as a heavy equipment mechanic and then found home working at the Climax mine. He moved to Breckenridge and stayed there until 1968. In 1969, he moved his family to Buena Vista and continued to work for the Climax mine until he medically retired in 1983.

Fay was an avid fisherman who loved to take anyone out fishing. His fishing stories varied on size and count and usually filled with some truth. He did have a few of the larger ones mounted to help back up his wild stories. 

He enjoyed being retired and spending time fishing and seeing sites with his grand kids and playing poker with friends. Many of his friends would spend hours playing poker with him and sharing outlandish tales. He loved to travel and, though handicapped most of his life, he never let that slow him down. Even in his older age you would find him out on a snowmobile, ice fishing or out cutting wood in the forest to provide extra income for his family. He would not let any situation slow him down.

Survivors include brother Dale Williams, brother Earl Fox, brother Larry Fox, three sons, Mitch (Dawa) Williams, Gregory Scott (Donalyn) Williams, and Terry (Lori) Williams and 10 grandchildren, David, Uriah, Tshering, Michael, Joshua, Timothy, Elesha, Maya, Evan and Hailey.

He was preceded in death by his ex-wife Theodora, both his parents, brother Perry Fox and sister Oletta Fox.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Colorado Parks and Wildlife Attn: Financial Services 6060 Broadway, Denver, CO 80216.