Bertha Williams

Born: Monday, 13 February 1905
Died: Monday, 19 June 1978

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Bertha Williams was a humanitarian, poet, and Freemason whose work demonstrated her adoration of God and the entirety of his creation.

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The fourth Grand Commander of what is now known as Universal Co-Masonry, Brother Williams was a lifelong poet whose inspiration knew no earthly bounds. As Grand Commander, she served in this capacity from 1959 to 1968, leading Co-Masonry with wisdom, strength and grace. Under her guidance, American Co-Masonry was sustained and nourished so that it was able to grow into the institution we know today. Brother Williams stood up to adversity and trials with bravery and a cheerful disposition, dedicated to serving her brothers, the Order, and all of Humanity.

A quiet, reserved, and stately woman, Bertha never let the material dull her sensitivity to the higher regions from which she drew her art. Brother Williams wrote "Covenant With Light" — a beautiful poetic anthology which includes musings upon Freemasonry, Humanity, and the Divine. It is transparent, from both the life that she lived and the poetry she left as her legacy, that Bertha Williams was a resplendent example of all that a Co-Mason should attempt to become — tireless, gentle, intuitive, completely overcome with an adoration of God and the entirety of his creation.