Brian John Williams

“Memories are precious, they don’t go away. We think of you always and not just today”

Brian passed away peacefully on 10th January 2022 at Station House Nursing Home aged 81 years.

Brian, the loving Husband of Barbara and a Cherished Dad & Grandad who will be fondly remembered & sadly missed.

His funeral took place on Thursday 20th January at Crewe Crematorium Chapel at 11.30am.

Kind donations are going to Alzheimer’s Society.

For further information and to offer your condolences, please telephone our Funeral Home on 01270 584447.

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After losing someone you love, long before you were ready to say goodbye, it’s
difficult to even contemplate the word celebration, let alone be joyful but Brian was
described to me as a real character with a very dry sense of humour.
He wasn’t one for demonstrating affection – in fact he would mask his true soft
centre especially for Barbara by making some flippant remark and very slowly
sticking two fingers up behind her back! She was the love of his life but he’s
probably sniggering right now and saying, “don’t know where you got that from!”
Well, we came into the chapel to Wooden Heart by Elvis Presley, and I have it on
good authority that Brian bought the vinyl record for his young sweetheart when he
fell for her around sixty three years ago living in Alexander street. She was sixteen
and he was eighteen but even back then, he would be sat with his mate Titch Harris,
shouting typical Brian comments at her across the street! Yet one day he got back
from college and had bought her a love song.
He was always a showman and expressed himself loudly! He was very family
orientated and he secretly loved hugs but would respond by brushing them off. Yet
he was such a caring man with a good heart, he just had to try and keep it under
wraps. He would do anything for anyone but quick to tell them they weren’t doing
something right! He was much loved and respected and his personality endeared
him to everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him.
Brian is and always will be Barbara’s much-loved husband and blessed with two
boys Craig and the late Simon. He was fond of Craig’s partner Marie and always
remained close to Sarah. Brian was a cherished grandad to Jimmy, Josh, Steven
Alex and lovingly known as Bambam to Will and thought a lot about Will’s girlfriend
Em – always taking the Micky out of her especially when she had her ‘fashionable’
ripped jeans on!
He was the youngest brother to Jack, Walter, Elsie, George, Bette and not forgetting
Robert who was close to Brian in age, and he was also a dear brother-in-law, uncle
and great uncle to Kim. He was particularly close to Bette’s daughter Amanda and
her husband Richard and his nephew the late Darren. Amanda was regularly on the
receiving end of his remarks like “what have you done to your hair? Where’ve you
parked your motorbike?
He made good friends over the years, especially Glyn and Trevor but there were so
many special people in his life, it is difficult to name them all.
Born and bred in Crewe, Brian was a proper West Ender. He grew up on Alexander
Street with his mate Titch and in the very early sixties, the family moved to Acton
Road. Apparently, he once took a stray dog home but his mother wouldn’t let him
keep it and in later life, he had a passion for Westies.
After leaving school at fifteen, Brian got an apprenticeship working for Crewe and
Nantwich Council as a paver and gained his qualifications at College in Stoke.
Working for the council until he retired in 2001, he progressed to the role of
Highways Inspector and was extremely proud to be promoted to Senior Highways
Inspector.

He and Barbara exchanged their lasting vows on 19 th October 1963 and began
married life living on Derby Street but found their forever home in Marshfield Avenue
several years later and in 1981 when Barbara’s sister Patricia passed away, she and
Brian were blessed with the two boys.
The family had many holidays over the years although Brian never liked flying. They
liked to visit his brother Walter and family in Devon and having been to Penryn Bay
with Dennis and June, Brian and Barbara enjoyed it so much, they bought a static
caravan there in 2006 only giving it up ten years later when Barbara became
concerned about Brian’s health.
Over the years grandchildren were welcomed into the world and once he had retired,
Brian used to pick Will up from nursery. They became inseparable and as Will said,
best mates.
Brian loved driving and took Will everywhere with him. They loved going to the
airport, the pound shop in Winsford and always had to go the pretty route.
As his illness progressed, Brian could no longer drive but Will was always happy to
take his grandad out in the car.
Brian always did like his pint, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
but Barbara insisted he had two ‘dry’ evenings. The last couple or so years, Will
would take him to the Cricket Club, he’d have half a bitter and Brian loved it because
everyone chatted to him.
Brian started with dementia around 2015 and he was stable for a long time, but it
seems that was very much down to Barbara being totally committed to his care at
home in familiar surroundings until June last year. She always made sure he was
smartly dressed and to people who didn’t really know him, it wasn’t even apparent he
had dementia because Barbara, his family and friends kept everything as normal as
possible. She would even go for a walk with him at 1am in the morning when he
couldn’t settle.
Barbara just needed a little respite once a week and would visit her sister, but Brian
got to the stage where he didn’t like being alone and then in the later stages of his
illness, Will was the only one he would really respond to.
Will drew on Brian’s work ethic and if Brian was unsettled or agitated, Will would say
c’mon mate, we’ve got work to do and even in Station House, the staff adopted the
same tactic, settling Brian by getting him to help in the office. And he liked Jenga –
moving the wooden blocks – it was as if he was arranging paving stones again.
If Will was at football, Sarah would have Brian at her house and he loved helping
Chris with doing jobs at the house.
Often on Wednesdays when Will was home from football, he would take Brian to
have a wander round M&S especially round the food hall then into the café. One
day an assistant told Will they could have two coffees on the house and when he

asked why, he was told the Manager was so impressed with how Will was looking
after Brian!
And he hated hospitals! He never sat still even before he started with dementia!
Barbara said if they were waiting for more than an hour there was hell to pay! And
during his recent stay Brian said to Will, “C’mon mate, take me out of here!”
Brian was much loved and cared for, his illness didn’t define who he was but the
family embraced the joy of laughing with him.

May he rest in peace.