| COLUMBIA—Dr. Carol Ahern Williams, 76, passed away Sunday, August 9, 2009, in her
home in Columbia after her courageous 20-year battle with cancer. Against all odds, Dr. Williams survived
a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer twenty years ago. After a valiant struggle, she was eventually able to
regain her health, enjoy her previous quality of life, and resume her contributions at USC and to society.
As a nursing educator, Dr. Williams appreciated the real-life lesson her recovery provided to patients and
their families. She attributed much of her improvement to an awareness of the mind-body connection.
She internalized and visualized her absolute expectation of a positive outcome as she underwent various
medical procedures. Last year, Dr. Williams once again offered inspiration as she managed to bounce back
to health after suffering a significant stroke. The healing capacity her body and mind demonstrated by
recovering from illness after illness surprised all who knew her and is indicative of what the human spirit
is truly capable of achieving. She recognized the importance of sharing the story of her triumph over terminal
cancer, as her own miraculous recovery offers hope to others facing a serious prognosis.
Dr. Williams lived a full and productive life for two decades following her initial diagnosis, before finally
succumbing when it recurred.
She was born June 21, 1933, in Providence, RI; the daughter of the late Sally Anna Carmichael Ahern and
Allan Archibald Ahern. She was raised in Newport, RI, Panama Canal Zone, Venice, FL, Newfoundland,
Westover Field, MA, among others, as the family followed the Army and Air Force assignments of her father
who retired as chief warrant officer. After graduation from Springfield, MA, Hospital School of Nursing in
1954, Dr. Williams worked as a staff and charge nurse in hospitals in Florida and Massachusetts while
earning a BSN degree in nursing from Boston University in 1960. She continued nursing as a teacher
and staff nurse in North Carolina and California before moving to Columbia in 1965 where she began her
career in psychiatric nursing at SC State Hospital. Dr. Williams's affiliation with the University of South
Carolina College of Nursing started in 1968 where she worked as a teaching assistant while earning an
MN degree in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing from the University of Florida in 1971, later being promoted
to instructor and assistant professor. After earning a DSN degree in Community Mental Health Nursing at
the University of Alabama in 1982, she was promoted to Associate Professor, and upon retirement in 1999,
she was awarded the title of Professor Emerita. Her other educational credentials included postgraduate
education in Family Systems Psychotherapy and national board certification as a Clinical Specialist in Adult
Psychiatric Nursing.
Dr. Williams was a Certified Grant Writer, a skill she used successfully to obtain grant funds, including
support for her research on 'Empathy and Defensive Style' from the Division of Nursing and the National
Center for Nursing Research and for nursing education in the College of Nursing, 'Advanced Practice Mental
Health Nursing' from the Division of Nursing, US Public Health Service. At USC she taught undergraduate
and graduate courses in psychiatric mental health nursing and taught and supervised masters and doctoral
student research. She has an extensive record of service to USC, serving on multiple college and university
committees during her over 30 years as a faculty member. She made enumerable nursing research and
practice presentations at professional meetings around the world and published extensively in prestigious
professional journals. She is well-known in South Carolina and nationally for her leadership in professional
nursing organizations, especially related to psychiatric mental health nursing and as co-author of the 2006
book, Legacy of Caring: A History of Nursing at the University of South Carolina College of Nursing (SC
History Award winner). She was a member of the South Carolina and the American Nurses Association,
the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, International Society for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing,
Sigma Theta Tau International, Southern Nursing Research Society, and Psychiatric Advanced Practice
Nurses of Columbia.
Carol was not one to rest on past laurels. Following her retirement, she embarked on a major new and
challenging research project. Her interests in health care and sampling skills meshed with a colleague's
interests in economic development and rural poverty. Lee County was chosen as the laboratory for this
research for the next several years and was visited on average twice a week. During these years she
participated in lengthy one on one interviews with over a hundred Lee residents representing all facets
of society. Her initial entry to the county coincided with a major local effort to reinvigorate the economy
and to deal objectively with the legacy of racial issues from the Ante Bellum past. She was a fixture at
County Council meetings, numerous church socials, service institutions, and local eateries and counted
numerous residents of the county as friends. At one point she seriously considered moving to Bishopville
and purchasing the boyhood home of West Point football great, Felix "Doc" Blanchard. Dr Williams was an
objective observer and while not the first to coin the phrase, gave new meaning to "Shadows in the Sunbelt."
These are best described as predominately black rural counties with weak employment opportunities, almost
all black public schools and almost all white private schools, declining opportunities for youth interracial
activities, and the out-migration of the best and brightest from both racial groups.
Dr. Williams became an astute observer of educational issues and participated in interviewing members of
the school board, school superintendents, and concerned parents and gained their trust for her objectivity.
She was privy to memorable school board elections, visited every school in the county and at one point was
prepared to offer a short course at the high school. Lee County had become a second home to this patient
investigator and she was on a first name basis with numerous residents — be they social activists,
political leaders, members of the clergy or poorly educated parents seeking better opportunity for their
children.
She joined a newly formed Bishopville Kiwanis Club, eventually serving as club secretary. Carol Williams
understood concerns within and between both racial communities. She documented the existence of
numerous school children whose parents rejected both public and private education opting instead for
home schooling networks, a charter school and schools in adjacent counties. When not in Lee County,
she involved herself in an autobiographical writing class organized by Palmetto Health Baptist, assisted
in training dogs for the handicapped (Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services, "PAALS"), became an active
participant in a local computer club and, until two months before her death, exercised at the Capital Senior
Center. Internationally, she attended nursing conferences in Korea and Saudi Arabia, and collaborated with
public health nurses in a sprawling black township in South Africa. She was a regular participant in
Columbia's World Affairs lecture series and USC's Caught in the Creative Act course and seldom missed
an opportunity to attend musical performances. Her frail body encompassed a mind never ceasing to find
new challenges. It is fair to say that Dr. Carol Williams was a woman for all seasons.
She is survived by her daughter, Karen Williams Hammack, and grandsons, Matthew and Rex of Longwood,
FL; sister, Elaine Jennings of California; and many friends and professional colleagues. She was
predeceased by her parents and her brother, Allan Ahern. A special thank you is extended to Harmony
Hospice and PAALS who were incredible sources of comfort and support.
A Memorial Service is planned for Sunday, August 30, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. at Rutledge Chapel on
the Historic Horseshoe of the University of South Carolina. Dr. Williams was laid to rest at Ramsey
Creek Preserve, Westminster, SC. Memorials may be sent to the College of Nursing (c/o Judy Barr),
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208; International Society of Psychiatric Mental Health
Nurses Foundation, Dr. Carol A. Williams Scholarship Fund, College of Nursing (c/o Dr. Kathleen Scharer),
University of South Carolina; or Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services, P.O. Box 25679, Columbia,
SC 29224. |
