Loretta Ann (Hesse) Williams, a resident of Idaho Falls, passed away on July 24, 2020 following a brief illness. Loretta was born to German immigrant parents George and Katherine (Schmuda) Hesse on May 11, 1937, in the Jamaica neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York. She had one brother, George, who along with her parents preceded her in death. Loretta attended NY City public schools and Valparaiso University in Indiana where she was conferred a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.
While attending the university, she met and married her first husband, James Letsinger, and together they raised five children (Laura, Jon, Shelley, Melissa and Todd) in Crown Point, Indiana until their divorce in 1979. Loretta moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, to start a new chapter in life raising three minor children, attending local vocational college and working for a local accounting firm to support her family. At the firm where she worked as administrative assistant, Loretta met and eventually married in the summer of 1982, Ruland N. Williams, CPA, a native of Idaho Falls.
Loretta and RN made their home on Malibu Drive in Idaho Falls for many years until moving to a new home in Ammon, Idaho nearby. Loretta and RN liked to travel and camp in their motor home, play golf, and read books together. They remained happily married until his untimely death in February, 2010. Loretta was a member of the ladies golf association in Idaho Falls and Scottsdale, Arizona. She loved spending winters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where it was nice and warm. She enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren and liked to talk to them over the phone to "catch up" on the happenings in their lives. Loretta was inquisitive and liked to learn new things. Always a very independent person, she lived her life her way. She continued to read books, enjoy puzzles, and sew Christmas stockings for her grandchildren up until her death.
Loretta will be greatly missed by her sons and daughters, their spouses, ten grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and her close companion dog, Cookie, along with her many neighbors and friends in the Scottsdale and Idaho Falls communities. A private family interment is planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Diabetes Association.