Williams, Clarice Cummings Trent

Clarice Cummings Trent Williams has planted her last garden, mowed for the final time, and made her last pan of cornbread. Clarice Williams, 70, of Newport, Va., died on Wednesday morning, March 3, 2010, at Heritage Hall Healthcare Center, Blacksburg, following a series of strokes on February 8 and February 24, 2010. Born on September 3, 1939, Clarice Cummings Trent was the oldest daughter of Cyclone Thomas Trent and his wife, Era Eliza Cummings, of Patrick Springs. From her parents, she developed a “Tenacious Spirit” which proved invaluable in her rapid recuperation from the initial stroke. She believed in hard work to achieve success which she passed on to her children. Possessed of a sharp and incisive intellect, she graduated from Hardin Reynolds Memorial High School in Critz, as a member of the Class of 1956 after skipping a grade in elementary school. In recent years, she eagerly looked forward to attending the annual May banquet held by the school’s strong alumni group.

She attended Radford College (now Radford University) and on a blind date, arranged by one of her roommates from Newport, met her future husband, Billy Gene Williams. They married in Stuart on December 19, 1957. After their marriage, they lived in Newport, eventually building a house on land owned by Billy’s Price ancestors since the 1790s. Clarice entered the working world at Virginia Tech, then Virginia Polytechnic Institute; first, in the mailroom, then in the Extension Department. However, most of her working years were spent in Engineering Fundamentals under the guidance of her boss, W. George Devens, where she culminated her career as Freshmen Enrollment Coordinator for the College of Engineering. There, she made lifelong treasured friendships with both her colleagues and the students whose transcripts she analyzed. Her career ended abruptly when on July 3, 1986, a pacemaker was implanted, altering her life. This led to disability retirement, but she remained active in the community, despite a replacement pacemaker being implanted on February 12, 2003.

While her children were young, she joined the WSCS which evolved into the United Methodist Women, where she was an active member for years. As they grew older, she, with her husband, became a member of the Giles County Rescue Squad, and allowed the ambulance to be parked at her home during the search for a shelter. Simultaneously, she joined the Newport Volunteer Fire Department, becoming its first female member, where she served as treasurer. Keenly interested in county affairs as well as zoning and planning, she helped craft several of Giles County’s Comprehensive Plans. Recently, she had assisted with Pembroke Telephone Cooperative’s By-Laws Revision.

Quietly patriotic, and following her daughter’s path, Clarice honored her Revolutionary War ancestors, Robert “Robin” Cummings and Joseph Varner, by joining the Daughters of the American Revolution. There, she discovered a niche. After joining the George Pearis Chapter, she was elected regent performing those duties during her husband’s cancer diagnosis and his death nine months later in July 1999. Following that, by request of Virginia State Regent, Mary Jane Davis, she served as State Program Committee Chairman. More recently, she had become a member of the Alleghany Chapter in Blacksburg where she cherished new friends.

Equally proud of her grandfather, Woodson Reilly Cummings’ service in the 30th Battalion Virginia Sharpshooters during the Civil War, she joined the W.W. McComas Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Following Billy’s death, she joined the Newport Ruritan Club where she maintained the family record of service. Like everything she did, Clarice embraced membership with vigor, eventually serving several terms as treasurer, which she recently relinquished due to failing health. If she had a credo for life, it was “give full measure” in all you undertake. Clarice was also a former member of the Newport Woman’s Club. For a number of years, she also participated in the Newport Agricultural Fair, serving on the board of directors several times. Additionally, she was a member of Newport-Mount Olivet United Methodist Church which had been built by her husband’s great-grandfather, David Brown Price.

Her interests were many and varied. She loved gardening and possessed a “green Thumb.” She enjoyed arranging flowers and was so skilled at it that when she attended a workshop, one of the participants offered her a job. She adored flea markets, auctions, and hunting for bargains. But cooking and reading probably gave her the most joy. She also reveled in being around her family whom she cherished.

Clarice was preceded in death by an infant sister, Alice Elizabeth Trent, in 1937; her parents, Era, on August 16, 1977, and “Syke,” on November 13, 1984; her youngest son, Joe Trent Williams, on September 16, 1984, from a car accident; her husband, Billy, on July 29, 1999, from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma; and her youngest stepgrandson, Jacob Benjamin Halvorson, on February 2, 2007, from a car accident.

She is survived by a daughter, Brenda Lynn Williams, of Newport; a son, Billy Gene Williams Jr. and wife, Sherry, of Jackson, Tenn.; grandson, Dylan Austin Williams; and stepgrandson, Justin Cole Halvorson, also of Jackson. Other survivors include a sister, Viola Maude “Cricket” Skinnell and husband, Carlton, of Bedford; a brother, Cyclone Thomas “Tommy” Trent Jr. and wife, Jane, of Patrick Springs; and sister-in-law, Joanne (Williams) Curling, of Lynchburg. Additional survivors are nieces and nephews, Carlton Mahlon Skinnell Jr., and wife, MyLou; Kathryn Elizabeth “Kathy” Little and husband, Bruce; Cyclone Thomas Trent III and wife, Myra; Larry Edgar Trent and wife, Angela; Linda Edith Fisher, his twin, and her husband, Kevin; Dana Lynn DeHart and husband Matt; Karen Lisa Collins and husband, Aaron; David Abel Trent and wife, Katie; Sharon Leigh Bryant and husband, Gerald; Susan Gail Metz; and David Clifton Curling and wife, Tammy.

A memorial service will be held 11 am on Saturday, April 3, 2010, at the McCoy Funeral Home Chapel, Blacksburg. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that contributions be made to the “Newport Park Fund,” Newport Ruritan Club, c/o of Treasurer Paul Washburn, P.O. Box 143, Newport, Va. 24128, or to the “Newport Covered Bridge Fund,” Newport Village Council, 3119 Clover Hollow Road, Newport, Va. 24128. Per Clarice’s wishes, interment was private in the family plot within Newport Cemetery. Arrangements by McCoy Funeral Home, Blacksburg, Va.