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Julia Williams Broughton
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Julia Williams Broughton, of Rockville, Maryland, passed away on January 22, 2009, at Shady Grove Hospital in Rockville, MD, following a brief illness. Julia was born January 26, 1922 in Evansville, WI, the eldest child of Dan and Mildred Williams. She grew up in Evansville. An accomplished musician, she played cornet in the Wisconsin State High School Band while attending Evansville High School. She attended Green County Normal in Monroe, WI, received her teaching degree in 1940, and taught school for one year in Footville, WI. Through her classmate, Carol Broughton of Albany, she met Carol's brother Arthur Broughton. Julia and Arthur were married on December 23, 1943. Following World War II, they lived in several cities in Wisconsin, including Racine, where Arthur was the managing editor of the "Wisconsin Agriculturist." In 1958, they moved to Silver Spring, MD, where they remained until 1981, when they retired to a home on the Sugar River in Albany.

Julia's maintained a lifelong interest in music, playing piano and organ as well as singing in the choir of the Unitarian-Universalist Church In Silver Spring. She was a skilled seamstress, who made clothes for herself and her children, and later in life she became a weaver and wove beautiful fabrics, including ancient patterns from her ancestral Wales. Throughout her life she maintained a keen interest in social justice and helping the disadvantaged. In the 1960's, she was active in the civil rights movement working tirelessly to provide equal access to housing for African-American members of the U.S. military.

Following her husband Arthur's death in 1999, Julia moved to Madison, WI, and enjoyed going to plays, book and jazz classes, and other activities. In 2008, She moved to Collingswood Nursing Home In Rockville, MD, near her daughter Elizabeth Broughton.

Julia is survived by her sister Ruth Heinzen, of St. Paul, MN; by her three children: Arthur Broughton Jr. of Moss Beach, CA, William Broughton of Verona, WI, and Elizabeth Broughton of Takoma Park, MD; by her grandchildren: Kevin Tenaglia of Walled Lake MI, Cody Broughton, currently in the U.S. Army in Iraq, Obadiah Broughton of Boulder, CO, Christopher Broughton Bossong, of Washington, D.C., Aaron Broughton of McKinleyville, CA, and Cecily Broughton of Rohnert Park, CA.

A memorial gathering will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, February 1, at the Sharer Bifulk Funeral Home at 203 W. Nichols St. in Albany, WI. A graveside ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Monday, February, 2, at Magnolia Cemetery, Magnolia, WI. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Albany High School Scholarship Fund in Albany, WI.