Peggy Williams Riley

OZARK…Ms. Peggy Williams Riley, a resident of Ozark, died late Saturday evening, March 21, 2026, at her home. She was 79.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Saturday, March 28, 2026, in the Fuqua Bankston Funeral Home Chapel with Pastor Peter Brent officiating. Entombment will follow in Woodlawn Memory Gardens Mausoleum. Fuqua Bankston Funeral Home of Ozark is in charge of arrangements. The family will receive friends from 12:00 until 1:00 P.M. Saturday at the funeral home.

Ms. Riley, daughter of the late Harry Williams and Bernice Woodley Williams, was a proud native of the Eastlake/Norwood community in Birmingham. That neighborhood shaped her early years, and she carried those memories with her throughout her life. In 1971, she made Ozark her home, and from the moment she arrived, she poured her heart into building a life rooted in hard work, kindness, and service to others.

For forty‑five years, she owned and operated Riley’s Store and Riley’s Trailer Park. Those weren’t just businesses to her — they were places where people gathered, shared stories, and felt welcome. Folks knew they could stop by for what they needed, but they also knew they’d be met with a friendly face, a listening ear, and someone who genuinely cared about them. She treated customers like neighbors and neighbors like family, and her presence became a steady, familiar part of the community for decades.

She was a faithful member of Logan Road Baptist Church, where she found comfort, friendship, and a sense of belonging. Her faith guided her through life’s ups and downs, and she leaned on it quietly but deeply.

Family meant everything to her. She carried the memories of those who went before her — her sister, Christine Hardin, and her brothers, Lesley, Wesley, Marshall, and H.L. Williams — with love and respect.

Ms. Riley lived her life with a steady strength, a generous spirit, and a down‑to‑earth warmth that made people feel at ease. She worked hard, loved deeply, and left behind a legacy built not on grand gestures, but on everyday kindness — the kind that stays with people long after the moment has passed. Her memory will continue to live on in the community she served, the friends she made, and the family who loved her dearly.

Surviving relatives include her nieces and nephews; special friends, Juan Gonzalez and Nellie Sharp, both of Ozark.