JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Saturday morning, loved ones, family, and children gathered at the Mt. Bethel Baptist church in Jacksonville’s northwest side to lay to rest 80-year old Clifford Williams.
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“My dad and I always been there with each other. And so for us to lose him. It’s, it’s a lot,” his daughter, Tracy Bernice Williams Magwood, told Action News Jax at the funeral Saturday.
“We were like best friends and father son, you know. I miss him, I’m still missing him,” added his oldest son, Warren Rozier.
While Clifford leaves behind fond memories, the story of Clifford Williams was also one of lost memories and lost time.
“Everybody loved Clifford Williams but the law,” said William’s nephew Nathan Meyers.
Read: Wrongfully convicted Jacksonville man imprisoned for 42 years dies at 80
Clifford Williams Jr. served a 42-year prison sentence for murder alongside Meyers before the state overturned their convictions just five years ago, finding them wrongfully convicted. All those years behind bars, Tracy told Action News Jax her father was forced to miss out on countless memories with her and his grandchildren.
“On my wedding day, he didn’t get to walk me down the aisle. He wasn’t there when his grandchildren were born,” she told Action News Jax.
However, while behind bars, he also missed the death of his mother, as well as the death of one of his son’s, who Tracy says died in a crash while visiting their father in prison one day.
Read: Clifford Williams Jr. passes away
“My nephew was supposed to be on the motorcycle with his dad that day. He wanted to go he begged his dad to go. His Dad told him no,” Williams Magwood recounted while choking back tears. “So as a result, my nephew is still here because his dad wouldn’t let him go that day.”
While Saturday morning served as a opportunity to lay Clifford Williams to rest, his daughter says she and the rest of his family will make sure his legacy lives on.
“We’re going to start a scholarship fund for those kids who parents are incarcerated. And if they make it through high school, they can get a scholarship,” Tracy said. “Clifford Williams Jr’s legacy will live on.”
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