Throughout the 2020-2021 program year, we are profiling various lay leaders in our congregation. This week, we feature Loie Williams, the Lead for our Welcoming Team. Loie became a member of UU Wellesley in April 1997.
Loie lives in Newtonville with her husband Wayne Welsh. Their son, Christopher, his wife Taylor, and Ollie The Wonder Dog have been living with them during the pandemic. Chris is the assistant general manager for Lord Hobo Beer in Woburn, while Taylor works for Weight Watchers as a facilitator and also teaches aerial yoga. Chris and Taylor just purchased their first home and will soon be moving to the nearby town of Maynard.
Recently, Loie connected with Board of Trustees Chair Kathy Coolidge to answer a few questions about herself.
Q. Where did you grow up and go to school?
A. I grew up in Bridgehampton, New York, out on the southeastern end of Long Island, with my mom and dad, and three brothers. My two older brothers used to play basketball in our backyard with one Carl Yastrzemski, so there is a small, but loud pocket of Red Sox fans there amid the sea of Yankee fans. At that time, Bridgehampton was a small farming town with a year-round population of approximately one thousand residents, and everyone knew each other. In the summers, however, the town was flooded with thousands of people from New York City. Today, it is pretty much jammed year-round. Our house was about two miles from the ocean so that was a common destination for us. I spent a lot of time outside, playing baseball or basketball with neighbors, bike riding, planting “gold” in our tractor tire sandbox, or building a golf course by digging holes in the yard around the house. I loved living in a small town. I remember we had a lot of friends who would just drop by to chat, and drink coffee or play our piano.
I went to the small Bridgehampton public school with three hundred or so K-12 students, and when I reached the age of thirteen, I was accepted at the Northfield – Mt. Herman School (as were two other members of our congregation, Valarie Gates and John Kauffmann). Before graduating from Northfield, my dad (the holder of the checkbook!) informed me that I had three career choices: Secretary, Nurse, or Teacher. The only option that appealed to me was teaching, so off I went to Wheelock College in Boston for a teaching degree. I later went to Harvard Extension for a Master’s in Business Management and was awarded my degree in 2013.
Q. What is your religious background? What brought you to UU Wellesley Hills?
A. I grew up attending the Bridgehampton Presbyterian church. After Wayne and I had moved to Newtonville and Chris was in kindergarten, I wanted to give Chris religious and spiritual exposure so I did a lot of church shopping. We visited other UU churches in the area but were most warmly welcomed by the UU Wellesley Hills members. We watched Marge Schellenberg working with her kindergarten class of twelve and decided that the Wellesley UU church was the best fit! I’ve been a member at UU Wellesley for about 24 years now.
Q. What kind of work do you do?
A. I was a schoolteacher for young children but realized it was going to be financially challenging. I managed an Italian restaurant before meeting Wayne and being convinced to join him way out in California. I got a job at the IBM office in Palo Alto, working in Marketing and Sales. My first position was selling IBM Selectric typewriters to businesses in the Silicon Valley, at a time when this “personal computer” thing was starting up. (Who would ever buy one of those things?)
Wayne left the Navy in 1985, and I transferred to the IBM office in Boston, selling software for MainFrames. I also wrote and published a handbook about things to do with your children when visiting Boston. Unfortunately, despite all the hard work it didn’t make the NYT Best seller list. I worked for some time as a VP for McGilvery & Lee, a small sales firm in Boston. I have now found my passion in working for Project Place, a small non-profit working to train and find employment for homeless and low income men and women; I am currently the Director of Working Opportunities for Women.
Q. What parts of congregational life are most meaningful to you?
A. I have had the privilege of being on several different committees, including chairing some of them. I was a Religious Education teacher, on the Nominating Committee, Co-Chair of the 2011 Search Committee, Co-Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee, Chair of the Mission Committee, and Co-Chair and Chair of The Standing Committee. I have loved all those activities because of the strong bonds and friendships I developed while working with the other members of the committees.
Q. You are the Lead of the Welcoming Team — what does that involve?
A. We have a great team! It includes Vic Polk, Therese Kelly, Anne-Laure Lehman, Anne Stoner and me. Because we have services remotely, our job is quite challenging and is constantly being redefined. We currently act as the remote greeters for our online services. We also organize the Circle Brunches ( There’s one coming up this Saturday!) Last September, we hosted the welcome-back event at church. If you remember, we were only allowed to have 50 people outside because of the pandemic. We did hit 49 people and had people in the group who were ready to leave to make sure we never exceeded that, but we did not have to ask anyone to miss any time there. We’re looking forward to getting together in person at some point in June.
Q. How are you managing quarantining?
A. It has been a gift to have Chris and Taylor (and Ollie, too) living with us during this time! Wayne and I are both vaccinated, and Chris and his wife have just received their second shots. I was considered to be in a high risk category for a vaccination, due to my working with people who live in homeless shelters and also by the fact that fifteen years ago, I was diagnosed with and treated for pancreatic cancer. I lost my spleen and part of my pancreas in the process but I am well and count every day to be a blessing.
Earlier in the pandemic, my family, (mostly Wayne) did all the shopping. I was very isolated and from March through July did not leave the house except to go for walks. I have been able to work almost entireIy remotely, which has worked out pretty well. I had all my Christmas shopping done by the first week in November and I isolated again from November until February when I was able to get my second shot! I *so* missed our annual holiday party to celebrate life with all my family and friends. I am thinking about changing our traditional January party to a summer party perhaps, so we can be outside and maintain a comfortable distance. We miss our friends and look forward to be able to have folks over for dinners, hopefully soon.
Q. What’s most important to you at this point in your life?
A. The most important things are my family and friends. The most important second thing is my work — I am very passionate about what I do and feel like I am making differences in people’s lives. The third thing is trying to maintain good physical and mental health. I’m biking in the Pan Mass Challenge in August for the 15th year! This year the Pan Mass Challenge route begins and ends in Wellesley and it is 100 miles. Due to the pandemic, they are not offering meals or places to stay, so I had to make a change from my usual two day route. I also love to row in a women’s eight but we haven’t been allowed on the water since the start of the pandemic. I continue to do online classes in yoga, biking, and meditation!
We are very glad to have Loie Williams serving as one of our supremely capable lay leaders here at UU Wellesley Hills!
Be sure to come to Fellowship Hour this Sunday, April 25th at 11:30 a.m.to meet Loie, who will give a brief presentation about her work as the Lead of our Welcoming Team