Karen Hastie Williams

Karen Hastie Williams, age 76, succumbed in her decade-long battle with Alzheimer’s dementia, Wednesday, July 7, 2021, at approximately 12:00 noon, at her home in Washington, DC - in the grieving presence of her loving husband of 53 years, the Reverend Dr. Wesley Samuel Williams, Jr., the Williamses’ youngest son, Bailey Lockhart Williams, and Mrs. Williams’ devoted caretaker of the past five years, Mrs. Maureen Grant Fenton.

Karen Hastie Williams was born at Washington, DC’s Freedman’s Hospital (later renamed Howard University Hospital) September 30, 1944, to the Honorable William Henry Hastie, Jr., at the time Dean of Howard University’s Law School - but formerly United States District Judge for the U.S. Virgin Islands, and later, Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and finally Judge (ultimately Chief Judge) of the Third Circuit United States Court of Appeals - and Mrs. Beryl Lockhart Hastie, a Howard University graduate and life-long Virgin Islander.

Karen Hastie Williams is survived by, in addition to her husband, their three adult children – a daughter, Dr. Amanda P. Williams of Piedmont, California, together with the daughter’s two sons (William Ernest Calhoun and Samuel Albert Calhoun), a son, Wesley Hastie Williams of New York City, together with his daughter and son (Della Bathrus Williams and Carlisle Hastie Williams), and the son present at his mother’s death, Bailey Lockhart Williams of Washington, DC, together with his two daughters (Magnolia Jean Williams and Morgan Elizabeth Williams).  Mrs. Williams is also survived by a brother, William Henry Hastie, III, of Los Angeles, California, and by numerous cousins, especially in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as countless friends across the US (and in England and Japan).

The funeral service for Karen Hastie Williams will be held on Saturday, July 24th, 1pm at the Williamses’ home parish of St. John’s Episcopal Church, at Black Lives Matter Plaza, 16th and H Streets, NW, Washington, DC, with a reception to follow at The Decatur House 1610 H Street

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.  This can be accomplished in either one of two ways—sending a check by mail to 40 Rector Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY, 10006, attention: development (including a note that the gift is in memory of Karen Hastie Williams) OR using the following link https://engage.naacpldf.org/Sc3YuBobnEiDEJGNIkaVUQ2

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Karen Hastie Williams, please visit our floral store.