Carol Williams-Furtado

SFC Carol Ann Williams-Furtado passed away suddenly, on May 18 ^th , 2019 at UMass/Alliance hospital in Leominster, Ma.

Carol was born to Albert and Louise Turner, on November 4 ^th , 1948 at the Boston Woman’s Hospital, Boston, Ma. Carol had thirty years of combined service both active and reserve to our nation. She was one of the first female stevedores in the Army, responsible for the loading and securing of cargo and equipment for overseas deployment on ocean going vessels. In a time when women were neither wanted nor respected in the military, Carol earned the trust and admiration of her subordinates, peers and senior officers alike. Her professionalism, integrity and dedication to duty were a shining example to all. She gladly accepted the challenge of not only representing herself but all the women serving with her and those to come. She knew that she had to work twice as hard to get half the credit of the men, and that drove her to succeed in the face of every insult, she did this all with a smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes, her spirit was indomitable.

Carol was a champion of all that could not fight for themselves. In 1995, when the schools in Alachua, Florida were failing their most vulnerable population, she became a founding member of a Charter school for children with special needs. Upon her return to Massachusetts she worked as a domestic violence advocate at the Concord Courthouse and more than once, with total disregard for her own safety, put herself between the abused and the abuser. Carol was a wearer of hats with a style that was unique and matched the free spirit that lived in her soul. Terrified of driving, she chose to face her fear and learned to ride motorcycles in the early 1980’s, turning her terror into her passion she had a lifelong love affair with the open road. Carol’s credo was ride to live, live to ride but most importantly ride your own!

Carol is survived by her husband of thirty-two years, Joseph Furtado, her sons; Richard Williams, John Furtado and Jacob Furtado, she was pre deceased by her son Jason Williams. Carol leaves behind a loving family that includes, her sisters Evelyn and Linda, brother Eddie and sister in laws Debbie Turner and Suzanne Furtado, and the late Bruce Turner. Carol was a grandmother to seven and a great-grandmother of two.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made in Carol’s name to the Autism Society of America. https://www.autism-society.org/get-involved/donate/

Relatives and friends invited to attend visitation in MacKinnon funeral home on Saturday,1 June, 2019 from 9:00 to 10:45am followed by a funeral mass at the Holy Ghost Church in Whitman, MA at 11am. Burial with military honors immediately following at the Mount Zion ceremony in Whitman. The bereavement will be held at the Adria restaurant at Ridder’s country club, in east Bridgewater, Ma from 1 to 4 pm.