Obituary of Marian Andrew Williams

Marian Andrew “Andy” Williams, who owned and operated Williamsport Antiques for over 40 years, died Friday in her Rowayton Beach home overlooking Five Mile River. The wife of Richard N. Williams and mother of three, including award-winning actor Treat Williams, was 82. Mrs. Williams had shown no signs of serious illness and had exhibited only the symptoms of the flu on Thanksgiving Day, a holiday that had brought all three children, five grandchildren, one great grandchild and in-laws from near and far. “We each spend quiet time with her on Thanksgiving Day,” said her son. Mrs. Williams had become enthralled with antiques as a teenager, working in a shop operated by her mother in a barn off White Oak Shade Road in New Canaan. Later, after raising her children, she resumed that interest and continued at it for the remainder of her life. All New England was her territory, even Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. She displayed her wares at the annual Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum Antique Show and shopped for antiques in London, too. After several years occupancy of a gallery at 143 Rowayton Ave., Mrs. Williams took Williamsport Antiques to a building next to the Darien Sports Shop which she shared with four other women. She also maintained a permanent collection in Queechee, VT, near Woodstock, and a smaller selection at the Antique and Artisan Mall in Stamford. Nancy Fiske, formerly of Darien and now of Rowayton Woods, was one of her partners at the Antiques of Darien location. “There are many nice people in this world, but Andy was remarkable in her kindness and generosity to others because she took so much pleasure in it,” Mrs. Fiske said. “She greeted everyone with a warm, welcome smile.” Mrs. Williams was more than a minor authority on antiques, having read scores of books on the subject. “She always discounted her superior knowledge in the field, but she was the best of the best,” said Frowke Blanding, who recently moved to Sausalito, CA, after several years residence in Barclay Court. “The antique business is hard work,” she continued. “You lug the stuff back and forth and then stand by it for hours dealing with the public. Andy could do it better than most because of her extraordinary stamina. I admire that strength during the 20 years I assisted her.” Mrs. Williams as a physical force would not be surprising to anyone who grew up with her in New Haven or Darien where she lived from adolescence and is remembered by contemporaries for a strong voice, forceful personality, athleticism and a dash of earthiness. She was an accomplished swimmer, sailor and water skier, teaching a generation of Rowayton children how to swim from her riverfront home, which also served as the base for water skiing and sailing instruction to as many more, two of her sailors going on to America’s Cup competition. She was often addressed as “Coach” by those former students. She was also adept on the tennis court and golf course. A woman of eclectic interests, she helped organize the Blue Notes singing group that gave concerts in and around the area with special attention to those incapable of getting about. She was co-founder of a women’s group which played the stock market instead of bridge, compiling a ledger never inferior to one operated by a peer group of men. Mrs. Williams was active with the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk for several years, too, and was one of the first, if not the first, woman in these parts to obtain a lobster fishing permit, a development that did not go unnoticed by The New York Times. “It was obvious to those of us who saw her on a daily basis that Andy engaged every moment of her life with joy,” said Gary Schpero, a neighbor of several years. Her son, Treat, who recently completed a successful four-year run in the television production “Everwood,” said his mother was supportive of him in his career, but she hadn’t been pushy. “She made me aware of the opportunities out there, and was very excited by it all. She and Dad came to everything I did. But she wasn’t on me all the time about it. I was 17 when I walked on stage for the first time. Her vivaciousness gave me the courage to do that; my courage came from her.” That support hit home the day after her death when he found his stage, screen and television credits neatly catalogued in a large scrapbook at the bottom of a closet. “I had no idea she’d done that,” he said. “It was pretty sweet.” Despite her satisfaction in her son’s accomplishment, Mrs. Williams never played the role, which made her only more endearing. Treat’s two sisters portrayed their mother in the same light. “She was my best friend,” each said. Mrs. Williams was born in New Haven, Nov. 15, 1924, the only daughter of Treat Paine Andrew, a stock broker, and Eleanor Barnum Andrew, an interior designer. An older brother, Treat Andrew, was killed in 1945, while serving as a tail gunner aboard a B-24 Liberator with the U.S. Army Air Force in Italy. She was 20 at the time, and the loss coming a decade after the unexpected death of their father when she was 10, showed her life’s sober side. She was a graduate of St. Margaret’s School in Waterbury, now a part of an institution known as Chase Collegiate School, where she found a leading position on the field hockey team. She and her husband, a Yale student at the time and also of Darien, met while associating with a group at the Noroton Yacht Club. They were an inseparable couple during their 59-year marriage. Mrs. Williams was a member of the New England Antique Dealers Association and the Connecticut Antique Dealers Association and the Silvermine Golf Club. In addition to her husband, a retired vice president for administration with the Olin Corporation, and her son, Treat, she is survived by two daughters, Lynn Williams of Durham, a secondary school guidance counselor, and Andrea Williams of Easton, owner of a landscaping service; five grandchildren, Lynn’s two daughters, Stephanie Feigin of New York City, a teacher at the Horace Mann School in New York City and Sarah Verhoeff, also of New York City, vice president of Rapp Collins advertising agency; Andrea’s daughter, Samantha Brown, aged 6, of Easton and Treat’s two children, Gil Williams, aged 14 and Elinor Williams, aged 8, both of Park City, UT; and one great grandson, Jackson Feigin of New York City. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, in the United Church of Rowayton with the Rev. John Livingston, pastor, officiating. Interment will be in the Memorial Garden of the church. A reception will follow in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to the United Church of Rowayton, 210 Rowayton Avenue, Rowayton, CT 06853. The Edward Lawrence Funeral Home, 2119 Post Road, Darien is handling arrangements. Funeral Home: Edward Lawrence Funeral Home 2119 Post Road Darien, CT USA 06820