Crash victim's family gives $2,000 to library

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

As the family of Alacia Williams faces its first Christmas without her, her parents have decided to turn pain into an enduring Christmas gift for Ma'ili Elementary, where their daughter was a fourth-grader.

Alacia Williams

"Then we said, 'No, that's not right. She wouldn't want that,' " said Alacia's father, Lon Williams.

Instead, the Williams family will give a $2,000 check to the school library to buy books to supplement the school budget — and delight children.

"We want them to do a basic survey among the kids and find out what their interests are and work with that list," Williams said.

"Alacia was eating books — you'd give her a book and she'd read it again and again and then tell you about it."

Ma'ili Elementary principal Linda Victor was in awe when she got the family's phone call a few days ago, because the gift increases the school's annual $7,000 library book budget by almost 30 percent.

"They especially asked that we buy books so students would have more of a variety of reading material," Victor said.

"The students will make recommendations for the books they want for the library, and we'll put a book plate inside each one (signifying that it's a gift in memory of Alacia)."

Victor expects that the gift from the Williamses will add up to 200 books to the library.

"The book budget doesn't go very far when you think about all the nonfiction books and reference books," she said.

Christmas has always been over the top for the Williams family. Every year there were elaborate toys for father and daughter, and Lon and Alicia would spend the entire day setting up racing car sets or moon-landing gizmos, playing with every single piece of equipment on the living room floor.

"We had toys together," said her father. "Certain toys she's the boss of and certain toys I'm the boss of."

And this year Lon and Karin had been planning to take Alacia to Germany — where her father works on contract with the U.S. government — and then to England so she could see Buckingham Palace where the queen lives, and bring to life a snapshot her father had sent her when he visited London.

"She had the accent down," he said.

Instead, the couple will meet in Philadelphia where his family is from, joining his siblings and their children.

Their older daughter will stay in Hawai'i because she can't get any leave from her job for the trip.

"I miss her to death," said Williams of his youngest child. "She was my friend, too."

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.