Boswell Williamson, known to nearly everyone as Bobby, and to a lucky few as Dad or Papa, went home to be with the Lord on April 23, 2026, at his home in Yorktown, Virginia, surrounded by the family he loved so deeply. He was 96 years old.
Born on May 12, 1929, in Yorktown, VA, Bobby was one of eight children born to John and Isadora Williamson. He came from a modest background and learned early about the importance of family. He was one of 8 siblings, 4 boys and 4 girls. He shared a particularly close bond with his twin brother, Beverly. After serving his country in the United States Navy until 1952, most of that time stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, he came home to York County, where he would spend the rest of his life.
In 1959, Bobby married the love of his life, Shirley, in their hometown. Together they built a life rooted in faith, family, and quiet steadiness. They welcomed two sons, Bruce and Ronnie, and over the years their family grew to include 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren, each one adored and cherished by both Boswell and Shirley.
Bobby spent most of his working life as a self-employed machinist under his own company, Williamson Machine Co. He was a craftsman in the truest sense. Patient, precise, and proud of work done well. The same steady hands that shaped metal also shaped a family.
Above all else, Bobby was a man of deep and unshakable faith. He and Shirley were longtime members of Tabernacle Baptist Church, where his love of Christ wasn’t just something he carried with him; it was the lens through which he saw everything. He served his Church faithfully for many years.
One of his proudest projects was building the church’s living Christmas tree, a towering metal structure that held the choir and turned them, miraculously, into a giant singing tree every Christmas season. He talked about it for years afterward, and rightly so.
Bobby was quiet but never absent, dry-witted but never unkind. He was even-tempered, wise, and fiercely loyal to Shirley and to his boys. He didn’t need to fill the air with words. When he spoke, you listened. He loved being out on the water with a fishing rod in his hand and a good catch waiting at the end of the line.
Bobby is survived by his beloved wife of 67 years, Shirley; his sons, Bruce Williamson and his wife Kathy, and Ronnie Williamson and his wife Suzanne; his 8 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, extended family, and church family who loved him. He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Isadora, and his cherished brothers & sisters, Beverly Williamson, John Williamson, Courtney Williamson, Nina Murphy, Myrtle Burnett, Dorothy Hall, & Ethel Fox
A private graveside service will be held for family and close friends.