Biography:

Sue Carolyn Shepherd Williamson died peacefully on December 15, 2025 surrounded by members of her loving family.  The daughter of the late Pearl Louise Toler and Grover Cleveland Shepherd of Pine Bluff, she was born September 23, 1932. Throughout her school years she excelled as a scholar and graduated from Pine Bluff High School where she received the Simmons Scholarship in recognition of her extraordinary academic record.

Sue attended Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia for two years and transferred to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.  She served as president of Pi Beta Phi sorority and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. Sue was offered a scholarship to pursue her master’s degree which she declined in order to be with her father after her mother’s untimely death to cancer.

She often said she grew up in a warm cocoon of love and encouragement fostered by her parents (Muddear and Dada – Pearl and Grover), her older brother, Bill, and her older sister, Catherine Ann. 

Since dancing was the great pastime of Sue’s generation, fortuitously she met her future husband, Adrian, at a Bachelor’s Club dance in Little Rock.  After a courtship of two years, they married in 1957.  Their three sons, Adrian III, Richard Shepherd and Arthur Starr were her crowning glory.  She adored her family and her grandchildren, Adrian IV, Jonathan and Elizabeth were the light of her life.

Throughout their marriage Sue supported Adrian’s career in banking and economic development, encouraging his efforts to bring foreign industry to Arkansas.  They traveled to Europe and Asia on several occasions.  Each trip lasted 30 days which allowed time to enjoy and learn about the distinct cultures of the various foreign countries.

With her children in college, never to be idle and utilizing her leadership talents, Sue gradually started working in areas of interest to her that included the Arkansas legislative sessions, the Constitutional Convention and the statewide Amendment 59 campaign.  As a renaissance woman she then began a remarkable career promoting philanthropy to support non-profit organizations with charitable missions.  At the American Red Cross, she was the Pulaski County Volunteer Director overseeing 18,000 volunteers who staffed the Blood Bank, the Bloodmobile, and Disaster Services.  She was recruited by Dr. Harry Ward, Chancellor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, to implement a development program.  For 31 years at UAMS she excelled in promoting philanthropic support and received numerous awards and citations for her extraordinary work.

Sue exhibited “a life lived so well” through her efforts of stewarding donors to feel the joy of giving to help others. Few have achieved as much and the results are a testament to the life of a leader who had a significant impact on her community and her country through steadfast vision, intelligence and grace which inspired others to follow her in the mission of promoting philanthropy to help others.

Throughout her life Sue demonstrated the trait of perfectionism in all her activities - always striving to do her best.  Whatever she touched resulted in beauty, harmony and enjoyment shared by family and friends. With her magnetic grace and charm, she was the epitome of a true southern lady. She was the very essence of beauty, grace, style and elegance. 

With her background in psychology, she was a master in understanding human nature and valuing each individual’s talents. She grew up in a family that promoted community service and she was a trailblazer in promoting philanthropic support for non-profit organizations and, in particular, the vast realm of medicine. She left her mark on the philanthropic foundation she fostered with her dedication to serving a cause greater than self. 

Sue spent more than three decades in fundraising and was instrumental in raising funds and support for virtually every center of excellence, new building, named endowment, and special development event at UAMS.

She assisted with the Jones Eye Institute's initial $12 million research and capital campaign in the 1980s and the $63.5 million “Invest in Life!” capital campaign during the early 1990s.  She served as interim director for the $15 million Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging Campaign match in 2004 and later as senior director of the successful $200 million UAMS Medical Center hospital expansion. She was also an integral part of the comprehensive “Campaign Imagine” that surpassed its original goal of $325 million to reach $385 million, benefiting every institute, college, and program at UAMS.

In addition, she started or expanded numerous programs that have generated significant support for UAMS. She implemented the annual Medical Research Endowment Awards in the 1980s to expand extramural funding at UAMS with awards totaling $2.3 million to 248 investigators who, in turn, have generated $40 million in grants and contracts.  She started the highly successful 800-member Chancellor's Circle in 1984, which has increased the patient and donor base, served as a model for other unrestricted giving societies at UAMS and throughout Arkansas.

Sue received numerous accolades for her work on particular campaigns, including the Public Relations Society of America Prism Award for her initiation of the Society of the Double Helix philanthropic recognition program. Her successful development efforts have resulted in other prestigious honors at UAMS, including the Chairman's Award from the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology and the Dean's Award from the UAMS College of Nursing.

In addition, on November 11, 2010 she received the prestigious AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals) President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in promoting philanthropy. On March 21, 2011 in Chicago, she received the development profession’s highest honor, the AFP International Fundraising Executive Award at the association’s international conference.
Sue led by example throughout her career and continues to stand as a role model to all development professionals promoting philanthropy.

Her contributions to the profession go far beyond just fundraising. She served in numerous community leadership positions, including Second Presbyterian Church, the Arkansas Arts Center, the Junior League of Little Rock and the Little Rock Garden Club which recognized her with the Garden Club of America Medal of Merit for outstanding and inspirational leadership.

She was preceded by her husband Adrian Williamson Jr., her older siblings Grover Cleveland Shepherd, Jr., Catherine Ann Shepherd (“Sister”) and spouse John Walker Jones, William Toler Shepherd (Bill) and spouse Virginia Louise Lee, and Martha Pearl Shepherd. She is survived by her three children, Adrian Williamson III and his wife Katherine, Richard Shepherd Williamson and his significant other Lizabeth Anne Wicker, Arthur Starr Williamson and his wife Mychelle, and her beloved grandchildren Adrian Williamson IV and his wife Emily, Jonathan Kouloubis Williamson and his wife Emily, and granddaughter Elizabeth Lee Williamson. She also is survived by her nephews and nieces, John Walker Jones (Margot) and children, Martha Jones Mason (Steven) and children, William Toler Shepherd (Dorothy) and children, and Virginia Lee Spain and children.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, January 4, 2026 from to 4 to 6 p.m. at Ruebel Funeral Home. A private burial will be held at Roselawn Memorial Park. The memorial service will be held on Monday, January 5, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Second Presbyterian Church with a reception to be held after.  Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the UAMS Foundation Fund, “Sue Shepherd Williamson Medical Center Endowment Fund,” the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Foundation, “Adrian Williamson, Jr. Cancer Research Endowment Fund,” the UAMS Foundation Fund, “Catherine S. Jones Parkinson’s Research Endowment Fund,” or to a charity of your choice.