Manuel Thomas Williams, 90

Manuel Williams, Appalachia native, master barber, and Korean War veteran has died

Manuel Thomas Williams, aged 90, died at his house in Senoia, August 25, 2025. Williams was born in Smith’s Bridge, Macon County, North Carolina, to Thomas Adis Williams and Lassie Alexander Williams on March 12, 1936.

Williams was known as a man of action and integrity, a man who knew his own mind and never wavered in conviction. As an underaged teen, he sought adventure running away to join the United States Marine Corp. When the Marines learned of his true age, he left and enlisted in the United States Air Force. While a Marine, he served and fought in the Korean War. As an Airman during the Cold War, he was stationed in the then-frontier of Anchorage, Alaska, and the secret desert bases of New Mexico.

Williams will be best remembered by his many clients and friends as a no-nonsense, small-town Georgia master barber. A man who never cut corners and didn’t brook nonsense. He was also a man whose heart hung the moon for his children and grandchildren. Through hard times and good, there was nothing he loved more than Christmas with wife and family around the tree. His other love, not to be denied, was University of Georgia football. All who knew him admired his sardonic humor and all-consuming love and loyalty to family.

Williams’ mindset emanated from a long family line of free-thinking Scots Irish near the Betty Creek and Rabun Gap area of Georgia, on the North Carolina border. He was born of hard times in the mountains of Appalachia during the Great Depression; dire circumstances dictated he be raised in an orphanage from a tender age, but that only instilled in him a determination for toughness and independence. While there he attended Hapeville High School.

Williams is survived by his beloved wife, Rebecca Pace Williams of Florence, Alabama; his daughters, Nicole Williams, Anne Williams Fain (Tanner), and Darlene Williams Hill (Justin); his son, Travis Williams; his grandchildren, Tatum Fain, Allison Hill, and Justin Hill; and his great-grandson, Noah Hill. He is also survived by his dear sister, Mary Williams Burton of Southern California. His siblings, Diane Williams and Fred Williams, preceded him in death.

A memorial service will be held at Legacy Christian Church in Senoia, Georgia, Saturday, August 30, 2025. Visitation with family begins at 10:00 a.m., memorial service at 11:00 a.m., and a reception follows for friends and family.