Dr. Ethelyn Williams-Neal, who practiced pediatrics in Memphis for nearly 60 years, passed away at her home Monday, March 30, 2026, her family said. She was 87.
Williams-Neal was born Ethelyn Juanita Williams on April 27, 1938 in Mason, Tennessee, to John Ed and Odessa Williams. The middle of three sisters, Ethelyn grew up on her family’s farm before her parents eventually relocated to Memphis in pursuit of better educational opportunities for their daughters. The sisters would each go on to become doctors — Willie Mae, a Ph.D. in education; Ethelyn a pediatrician; and Beverly an endocrinologist.
Williams-Neal attended Klondike Elementary and went on to graduate as valedictorian of the Manassas High School class of 1956. She enrolled at Central State College, originally to become a medical technologist. However, her exceptional intelligence garnered encouragement from several of her professors to pursue medicine. One, a medical researcher for whom she worked directly, told her to go to medical school and wrote her a letter of recommendation on the spot…