Jack D. Williamson

June 9, 1935 - December 6, 2021

Jack Donald Williamson, 86, of Vero Beach, Florida, formerly of Riverview, Michigan, passed away peacefully from heart failure at home surrounded by his loved ones on December 6, 2021. Don was born June 9, 1935 in Cedartown, Georgia. He was Vice President of his senior class, was on the National Honor Society and received a scholarship to Clemson University to play football and study electrical engineering. Don married his high school sweetheart, Sharone Baxter, in 1955 and moved to Detroit, Michigan to work and start a family. Don began working as an apprentice toolmaker at the Fisher Body Fleetwood Cadillac Plant in Southwest Detroit. Don rose through the ranks becoming the toolroom supervisor. He worked at Fleetwood for 32 years until it closed. Many people who worked with him said they admired his work ethic, knowledge and how he treated his employees. An accomplishment that he was proud of was a fixture he and his men made at Fleetwood is called the body drop. It drops the body of the Cadillac onto the chassis. That fixture is currently on display at the Detroit Historical Museum along with a brass plaque that has his signature and his men that built the machine. He then went to work for American Sunroof Corporation in Southgate, Michigan as Lead Engineer for 10 years until his retirement in 2005. After retirement, Don and Sharone moved from their home in Riverview to Seneca, South Carolina. They enjoyed a beautiful home on Lake Keowee where they loved entertaining their kids and grandchildren with pontoon boat rides, swimming, tubing and visiting area waterfalls. They then moved to Vero Beach Florida for the last remaining years of his life. His family will miss his tradition of giving everyone a box of chocolate covered cherries at Christmas time. He enjoyed that very much. He also enjoyed his dogs Molly and Sandy. In addition to his parents, Roy and Jessie Williamson, he was predeceased by his brother Richard. Surviving in addition to his wife Sharone, are his six children, Charlotte McCarty, Craig (Caron) Williamson, Nancy (late Richard) Tokarz, Suzanne (Ray) Bradley, Jennifer (Mark) Webb, and Donald Williamson and his brother Roy Glen (Shirley) Williamson. He is also survived by 13 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren. A service of remembrance at a private family ceremony will be held in Vero Beach at Strunk Funeral Home and in Michigan with Bobcean Funeral Home Carleton Chapel providing arrangements with interment at Michigan Memorial Park Cemetery.