Willie Arnette Williams was born on December 4, 1955, in Gulfport, MS to the late Calvin L. Williams, Sr. and Arnett (Julia) Hines Williams. Willie departed this life on January 11, 2025, in Gulfport, MS.

Willie was educated in the Gulfport public schools. He attended Alcorn State University, Lorman, Mississippi and received his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Economics. He completed thirty-five years of civil service with the United States Department of Agriculture in various positions, retiring as a civil rights investigator in 2010, in Washington, D.C.

His childhood church was St. Mark United Methodist Church of Gulfport Mississippi. As an adult, Willie was an active member of Shiloh (Old Site) Baptist Church of Fredericksburg, Virginia for over 15 years. He served as a church trustee at First Independent Baptist Church in Corsicana, Texas.

He is survived by his wife, Oressie Henry; his children, Warner (Emanuel) and Kim; his granddaughter, Willeau; his sister, Calvina Williams (Robert deceased), Carolyn (Charles) Howze, and brother, James Lizana; and a host of nieces, nephews, sisters-in-law, and a community of people who respect and love him. Willie lived a life of kindness and love. He will be missed.