M. Callie Williams

CALLIE WILLIAMS Our dear Callie left this world just after midnight on Sunday morning January 8th after a courageous battle with brain cancer. She passed peacefully at home, surrounded by friends, family and her life partner of twenty years, Loretta Ortiz y Pino. Born in Southern California, Callie spent her early years in South Pasadena and Switzerland where she attended the International School. Her childhood in Southern California solidified her love affair with the Pacific Ocean and her years in Switzerland started a lifelong love of the mountains. Nature was always her true home, where she loved to lie on her back, watching the clouds move while listening to the birds. In each place she lived, she spent most of her time outdoors, camping, hiking, skiing, canoeing, or farming -- things that gave her such joy. She attended Stanford University where she received her Bachelor's degree in Communications and her introduction to the Peace movement, an introduction that informed her world view and shaped the course of her life. In talking about that time Callie said, "I learned an incredible amount about political issues and the general state of injustice in the world that have informed many of the forks in the road I have taken since then. Whenever I have come to one one of those forks, it has been my heart, my intuition and my political experiences that have influenced the road I have chosen." Callie was a teacher, a mentor and a friend. In 1984 she moved to Nicaragua, where she lived for six war torn years. She was the director of the NICA Language School and worked in the countryside with the campesinos teaching health education. In 1991, she moved to Taos to be with her "twin heart" soulmate and found a true home. She received her Masters in Education from the University of New Mexico and then put that to work as a community organizer and teacher. She was the director of the Maternal Child Health / Community Wellness Council. She co-founded Mujeres en Progresso (a program for women immigrants) and Sustainable Health Innovations (a training program for physicians and health providers). She was also the facilitator for the Taos Council of Neighborhood Associations. In Taos, she searched out a more contemplative life, participating in wonderful Buddhist sanghas and meditation retreats, and engaging with eclectic groups of people from whom she learned so much. In addition to her dear Loretta, she is survived by her mother, Gerry Williams of Carlsbad, California, siblings Muffy Churches, Lock Williams, and Polly Williams, and six beloved nieces and nephews. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her. In lieu of flowers, her family requests donations be sent in her honor to Community Against Violence at PO Box 169, Taos, NM 87571 or www.taoscav.org. Arrangements by Rivera Family Mortuaries. www.riverafuneralhome.com