Obituary of Lionel Alston Williams

LIONEL ALSTON WILLIAMS, 67, it is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Lionel on December 26, 2019 in Toronto. Born in Halifax and raised on Cobequid Road, Lower Sackville. He graduated from Sidney Stephen High School in Bedford.He was predeceased by parents Alston and Pearl (Stevenson); and brother Patrick.He is survived by sons Clark (Silvia), Trenton, and Nathan; brothers Brian, Terry (April) and Dana (Karen); sisters Linda, Gwendolyn, Beth (Gerry); granddaughter Naomi; several nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.A virtuoso musician, music arranger, producer, music director, bandleader, songwriter, singer, teacher, mentor, and actor. His parents were very instrumental in developing his playing abilities. They bought him his first Gibson guitar at age 11 which he would hold on to for the rest of his life. He left Halifax at the age of 17 for Toronto where he developed his skills as an electric bassist, double bassist, and guitarist. While working as a letter carrier in the early 70s, he became known as "The Runner" because he would finish his route as fast as possible so that he could get home to practice double bass for four hours. That's when he met Sylvia Johnston; he fathered Trenton and became stepfather to Clark. He briefly attended Indiana University on a full scholarship but left because he was homesick. He later moved to Victoria, BC to play in the Symphony. After moving back to Toronto in the 80s, he met Marie Russell and together they had Nathan.At this point he found himself performing with Faith Nolan, Salome Bey, Sam & Dave, Ben E. King, Al Green, Etta James, Oliver Jones and Diana Ross, just to name a few. One of the highlights of his career was playing with Celine Dion at the 1991 Juno Awards. He also played with Woody and the Termites where he replaced Miles Goodwin of April Wine. He has his stamp on Bobby Arvon's Happy Day Theme Song. In 2019 he received an Award of Excellence at the 21st Annual African Nova Scotian Music Awards - the Eastlink Pioneer Award. In that same year, he was lead musician at the Africville Atlantic Film Festival to be aired on CBC.He lived his life with a passion that allowed him to have several lifetimes worth of experiences. While working on cruise ships, he traveled the world several times over. As an extra, he appeared in countless movies and TV shows such as Suits with Megan Markel and Murdoch Mysteries.Lionel was able to see the good in everyone. He was compassionate, empathetic, and employed an unrivaled sincerity in his day to day life. You always knew where you stood with him. He was very outgoing and had an enviable capacity to charm those around him with his brilliant sense of humor. He will be sorely missed.Visitation will be held at 11:30 am with Celebration of Life at 12:00 pm on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 at Atlantic Funeral Home, 771 Main Street, Dartmouth, NS., Rev. Dr. Lennett J. Anderson officiating. Repast to follow in the funeral home. Burial at Pleasant Hill Cemetery, 593 Sackville Drive, Lower Sackville.If musicians, film friends, family or friends would like to reach out to Lionel's family, please contact his sister Linda Williams via email: lindawilliams257@hotmail.com, phone: 902-478-2577 or by mail: 510 Cobequid Road, Lower Sackville, NS B4C 3Y7Memorial donations may be made to Lionel’s children through GoFundMe at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-the-williams-family-get-lionel-home?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheetOr to the Cobequid Road United Baptist Church, 526 Cobequid Rd., Lower Sackville, NS, B4C 3Y7Special thanks to all of Lionel’s friends and family for their support at this difficult time.