Marietta Williams

Marietta Lee Bateman Williams, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher, and friend, quietly returned home to her Heavenly Father on June 19, 2026, just a few days before her 89th birthday.

Marietta was born on June 25, 1937, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Clell and Margaret Bateman. She was their only child, and as the family story is told, her mother felt Marietta was so complete and perfect that she fulfilled every dream Margaret had for a child. It was a fitting beginning for a life that would go on to make so many others feel loved, valued, and deeply important.

As a young woman, Marietta attended Brigham Young University, where she served as president of the Cougarettes. While at BYU, she met the love of her life, Gary Williams. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in 1960 and began a life together built on faith, family, education, service, and love.

Together, Marietta and Gary raised four amazing children: Alecia Raymond, Kristin Pierce, Merrick Williams, and Chelsa Hansen. Their family continued to grow through grandchildren and great-grandchildren, each of whom became part of the great joy and legacy of Marietta’s life.

Marietta had a gift for teaching, encouraging, and bringing out the best in young people. She served as an educator at Brigham Young High School, where she taught girls’ P.E. and worked with the Hi-Steppers. She later continued teaching and mentoring students at Jordan High School for forty years, where she taught dance and served as the advisor to Dance Company. She loved helping young women grow in confidence, discipline, and grace, and many students were blessed by her steady encouragement and example.

One of the meaningful chapters of Marietta’s life came when she and Gary were called to preside over the Taiwan Taichung Mission from 1986 to 1989. Together they served the missionaries and members of Taiwan with faith, devotion, and love. Marietta brought warmth, steadiness, a mother’s heart, and a never-ending supply of chocolate chip cookies to that service, blessing the lives of many young missionaries who came to know and love her.

As meaningful as her accomplishments were, Marietta’s greatest work was always found in the lives of the people she loved. Her greatest trait may have been her remarkable ability to make every person she met feel like they were the greatest person in the world. She had a zest for life and knew how to laugh — truly laugh from her core. Her warmth had a way of putting people instantly at ease.

Most of all, Marietta loved her husband and her children. Gary and their children were the center of her world. She was their best friend, and they were hers. She gave herself fully and joyfully to her family and to the people around her.

Marietta was a woman of faith, refinement, strength, humor, and deep devotion. She knew how to lead without needing attention, how to serve without needing praise, and how to love in ways that lasted. Her influence was steady and gentle, but it was also powerful. Those who knew her felt it. Those who loved her will carry it with them.

Marietta is survived by her children, Alecia (Ronn), Kristin (Mike), Merrick (Amy), and Chelsa (Brad); her stepbrothers, David (Jessica), Daryl (Traci); her grandchildren; her great-grandchildren; and many extended family members and friends who loved her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Gary Shelton Williams, and her parents, Clell and Margaret Bateman.

 Funeral services will be held on Friday, July 3, 2026, at 11:00 am at the LDS Church, 80 South 280 East, Orem, Utah, with a viewing held that morning from 9:30-10:30 am prior to the services. Interment will be in the Orem City Cemetery, 1520 North 800 East, Orem, Utah.

Condolences for the family may be expressed on this page.

For those unable to attend the services in person, you may view the Livestream HERE