Dawanda B. Williams

My Story

Born in 1928 in southeastern Missouri, Dawanda grew up on a farm as part of a sharecropping family, a beginning rooted in deep familial bonds. At the age of 15, she

moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where she completed high school in 1946 and  mmediately stepped into the workforce. Over the decades that followed, she carved out

a career in secretarial work, including a 35-year tenure at Western Electric, the manufacturing arm of AT&T, before retiring in 1986.

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Throughout her life, Dawanda has embodied the quiet strength of a generation that built its future brick by brick. She reflects on a life filled with proud achievements: a joyful

and fulfilling marriage, a long and meaningful career, and  the deep satisfaction of raising an extraordinary daughter who continues to carry her legacy forward.

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Now in her 90s, Dawanda celebrates the freedom that comes with age: reading books, staying mentally sharp, enjoying good health, and engaging in political interests that she embraced more fully after retirement.

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What makes her the happiest?

Simply doing what she wants, when she wants, with the people she chooses. Freedom is her greatest joy.

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What advice would she give her younger self

Slow down. Life is shorter than you think.