Team Jesse

On April 8, 2007, Staff Sgt. Jesse L. Williams, 25, of Santa Rosa, CA, died in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from small arms fire while conducting combat operations in Baqubah, Iraq. Williams was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, WA.

Jesse’s military awards include 2 Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and 3 Army Commendation Medals. Jesse is survived by his wife Sonya, his daughter Amaya, his parents the late Herb Williams and Janyce Leone and his siblings, the late Sean Williams, Patty Blaylock, Wendy Radwan and Wade Mabery.

Born in Billings, Montana on June 9, 1981 to parents Herb and Janyce, Jesse began his life as an active boy. Ever full of energy, he found an outlet for it in sports and other outdoor activities. Although his energy level made it hard for him to sit still in the classroom, he had a thirst for knowledge. 

Jesse attended Santa Rosa High in California and excelled in rugby. He also followed through with another tough challenge by earning his Eagle Scout Badge. Becoming an Eagle Scout is an endeavor that most Boy Scouts start in their pre-teen years. Jesse began working for it at age 16, and achieved his goal with only a few hours to spare on his eighteenth birthday. Part of his Eagle Scout project was to help clean up and preserve the rural cemetery at Santa Rosa Memorial Park - where he is now buried.

After high school, Jesse decided to join the Army in March 2002, an enlistment that was motivated by a visit to Ground Zero following the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. It is no surprise that he chose infantry, and was later chosen to be in the elite Scout platoon in his unit. As he did in every aspect of his life, Jesse brought humor and fun, along with dedication and hard work to his army career. He bravely completed his first tour in Iraq, coming home with several awards including a Purple Heart. It was during his R&R leave from his first deployment that he met his future wife Sonya, also from Santa Rosa. After he returned to Iraq to finish his deployment, he spent months communicating by email and phone calls, regularly expressing his deepest desire to start a family. Jesse and Sonya were married in January of 2005, just two months after Jesse came home from Iraq in November 2004.

Amaya was born May 22, 2006 only five weeks before Jesse embarked on his second tour in Iraq. When Amaya was three weeks old, Jesse had her tiny handprints tattooed over his heart. He felt that by doing so, she would always be with him. For those five short weeks, he made it his mission to soak up every minute he could cuddling her, showing her off and happily changing her diaper. Jesse was also able to spend two weeks with her on his R&R leave in December 2006, which would mark the last days that Jesse and Amaya spent together.

Amaya will turn 14 on May 22, 2020 and everyone who is a part of Amaya’s life today and knew Jesse can recognize some of his traits in her. Most noticeably, Amaya has his energy level and ability to laugh. She enjoys reading, writing, art and excels in school. When you ask Amaya where her daddy Jesse is, her answer is always the same…..heaven.

Jesse lived life to its fullest until the very end and will always be remembered as a loving father, a devoted husband, a loyal son, a spirited brother and a most trustworthy friend. He was the guy that was never in a bad mood and made you laugh and smile even when things went wrong. One of Jesse’s greatest legacies is his free spirit and appropriately his favorite song was Three Little Birds, by Bob Marley. The lyrics teach us what Jesse did to “don’t worry about a thing, cause every little thing is going to be alright”.

We all love you Jesse and you will never be forgotten.