Four simple words on the sign offer a brief but poignant reminder: “Live Like Marty.”
Every time Danny Causey, manager at Madison Street Salvage, glances at the sign he has hanging in the kitchen, he takes a minute to think about the way his longtime friend Marty Williams approached each day.
“It’s a good way for people, especially those who knew him locally, to look at life,” Causey said. “It’s incredible the amount of people who were affected by Marty. Even if they didn’t know him well, they admired him for what he did.”
Just as he did for Causey, Williams touched the lives of countless people throughout the Franklin and Johnson County communities. He and his wife Carolyn were active volunteers in all kinds of different local organizations, from Franklin Heritage to Discover Downtown Franklin to the Johnson County Museum of History.
His contributions were so great that since 2016, the city of Franklin has honored volunteers with the Marty and Carolyn Williams Volunteer of the Year Award.
Williams died on July 14 at the age of 77, leaving a void in the community that cannot be filled. But his selfless spirit carries on in the people he and Carolyn helped over the years.
“He was a great man, like a father or uncle or brother to so many people. He was whatever you needed him to be,” said Krista Linke, a member of the Discover Downtown Franklin board and Franklin’s community development director. “He’ll definitely be missed.”
Williams was born on Jan. 29, 1944 in Indianapolis, and graduated from Southport High School in 1962. After high school, he went to work for Detroit Diesel Allison/Rolls Royce, and stayed at the company for 39 years until retirement.
He and Carolyn moved to Franklin 1999, and quickly ingratiated themselves into the downtown community. When they arrived in the city, leaders were only starting to form the Main Street organization that would become Discover Downtown Franklin. From the start, the couple wanted to be part of the effort.
Linke worked with Williams and his wife through a number of different organizations and efforts. They were all original board members of Discover Downtown Franklin, and remained active in its promotion of the downtown area.
Together, they all helped launch beloved events such as Strawberries on the Square and the former barbecue festival Smoke on the Square. They were particularly active with the summer farmers market.
“They really fell in love with the farmers market. It was really their passion. They were there every Saturday morning of every summer since Discover Downtown Franklin kind of took it over, directing all of the vendors and setting barricades up. It was their baby,” Linke said.
Causey had known Williams for years through Franklin Heritage and Madison Street Salvage, calling him one of his main volunteers. When they first started working together getting salvage items from historic homes across the county, the organization didn’t have box trucks or vehicles to haul everything in.
Instead, they relied on Williams’ old truck.
“It’s the main reason why we were able to go pick up items to raise money for the Artcraft (Theatre),” Causey said. “We have a lot of funny pictures of Marty’s truck completely overloaded, ‘Beverly Hillbillies’-style.”
As their working relationship continued, so did their friendship. Williams introduced Causey to the Good Cheer Fund, the annual holiday food distribution around the county, and they’d work together passing out food baskets in the days before Christmas.
From Franklin Heritage events such as the annual Artcraft Theatre sponsorship party and the biannual Franklin Home Tour, Williams’ work was invaluable.
“He was the definition of a leader that didn’t ask for recognition — a selfless leader,” Causey said. “He did so many things that people didn’t know about, in addition to the stuff in Franklin.”
Through volunteering with Discover Downtown Franklin, Williams was omnipresent at events and festivals throughout the years. He quickly earned the nickname of the “Ice Man” — spearheading the delivery of ice via golf cart to all the vendors who needed it.
That spoke to his willingness to make the events successes, no matter what.
“If you needed a truck or you needed a key or you needed a hammer, whatever you needed, he would go get it,” Linke said. “If he could do it, he would do it.”
When Carolyn Williams joined the program committee at the Johnson County Museum of History, helping with planning and volunteering for all the museum’s major programs, Marty was also around to help out with whatever needed to be done.
It became evident how much time they devoted to these events.
“What stood out to me was the dedication,” said David Pfeiffer, director of the Johnson County Museum of History. “Whatever needed to get done would get done.”
Marty and Carolyn Williams also were very active in their faith community at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. They helped form the Loaves and Fishes Food Bank at the church, and volunteered at it regularly. They helped in all kinds of ways — handling online ordering, picking up and delivering food to be distributed, unloading and arranging all the food on shelves.
And on the mornings when clients came for help, they were right there to assist them, said Rebecca Nickel, rector at St. Timothy’s.
“I’m so grateful they had the commitment to the food pantry. Their attitude was: It’s just what you do,” Nickel said. “You do the right thing. That’s how they lived every day.”
In the 10 years Nickel had known the Williamses, that kind of service exemplified the kind of people they were.
“Their Christian witness was, they showed you their love, they showed you their commitment and they showed you their presence,” she said. “I think Marty missed church only once a year, during the Indy 500. I think that was the only time he wasn’t there. And it all goes back to doing the right thing.”
In 2016, then-Franklin Mayor Joe McGuinness created a new annual award to honor volunteers who help with annual events, festivals and community programs in Franklin. The Marty and Carolyn Williams Volunteer of the Year Award was designed to recognize individuals who displayed outstanding volunteer service within the last year in the Franklin community.
Naturally, their namesakes were the first recipients.
“For those of you that aren’t familiar, I jokingly say that we’re the parade capital of Indiana,” McGuinness said at the time. “But with those parades a lot of times come festivals and other events, and if it wasn’t for people like Marty and Carolyn, we wouldn’t be able to pull them off.”
That award will continue to be given each year, and speaks to the impact the couple have had throughout Franklin. Inspiring others to give their time and make a difference in their community is their legacy, Linke said.
“They were so proud of Franklin and how far it’s come,” she said. “They were the unofficial ambassadors of everything good.”
