CONFIDENCE, Illinois — Cecil Williams celebrated turning 106 years young Saturday with chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream, surrounded by family.
He was born in Confidence, Illinois, on May 18, 1918.
Cecil's oldest son, Ronnie Williams, the family historian, spoke with 5 On Your Side about his dad's life.
"He was born in a dining room of a country house," Ronnie said.
Raised on a farm, Cecil learned to love the outdoors and live an active life, Ronnie said. His hobbies included hunting for morel mushrooms, quail, and rabbits. In fact, Cecil hunted for those morel mushrooms and rabbits in the field until he was 90 years old, Ronnie said. Cecil also kept honeybees between the ages of 16 and 92.
In 1941, he volunteered to join the Army.
"Little did he know that [during] the one year that he was supposed to serve— oops— the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, so his one-year tour of duty became a five-year tour of duty," Ronnie said.
Cecil came home during World War II to marry his wife, Edith. They were married for 60 years, Ronnie said.
The pair built a house in Vandalia, Illinois, where they would raise their three children.
Cecil made a living working in the Texaco Oil company as a roustabout, "which basically means get out here and get the physical labor done," Ronnie said. He eventually became a pumper, overseeing 60 wells ensuring they were operational, and monitoring tanks to figure out oil production levels.
As a dad, Cecil was "wonderful," Ronnie said.
The fondest memories Ronnie has of his dad are from his time as a Boy Scout with his dad as Scoutmaster, Ronnie said. Hundreds of kids knew Cecil through the program and had much respect for him.
"We had a lot of reasons to look up to him as his children," Ronnie said of his dad as a role model.
"Trustworthy, Helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, and reverent. Now, when they teach a Boy Scout, those are the 12 things that you're supposed to be," Ronnie said. "Well, when I looked at the list for the first time, I was trying to learn to memorize it. I said 'Well, that's my dad, and that's what he is. He's a good Boy Scout.'"
Ronnie said he recalls learning how to do Imu cooking with his troop.
"Now, there ain't many human beings (who) get to do Imu cooking, but my dad got us doing Imu cooking," Ronnie said.
Cecil retired at 62, which means he has been retired for 44 years. "He is very accomplished at retired," Ronnie said, laughing.
"To top it all off, he danced until he was 101 years old," Ronnie said. "He loved to dance with my mother, and when she passed away, he found another dance companion and danced with her for 16 years."
After being diagnosed with acute spinal stenosis, "Cecil woke up one morning and couldn't walk, it was that sudden," Ronnie said.
He lived unassisted for 101 years, but he now lives at a memory care facility just ten minutes away from his other son, Charlie.
Although it does not compare to the joys of hunting rabbits, Ronnie said Cecil has entertained himself in recent years with Sudoku puzzles.
Ronnie said he believes his children are his greatest joy in life. Cecil has eight grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.
The only thing that could make Cecil's birthday better for Cecil was homemade ice cream.
"We used to make it all the time," Ronnie said.
Cecil was one of the 3,084 centenarians in Illinois in 2023, which is a state that falls on the lower end of longevity in this country.
5 On Your Side learned that Cecil died on May 28, 2024, just 10 days after his birthday.
The Williams family felt incredibly fortunate to celebrate Cecil on what is now his last birthday.