Mercy Williams, the first woman Mayor of the Kochi Corporation, died at her residence near Thammanam on Wednesday at around 3.30 p.m. She was 67.
Ms. Williams had been fighting cancer for the last three months. Her eyes would be donated and the body would be laid to rest at St. John The Baptist Church at Palarivattom on Thursday at 3 p.m.
She became Mayor in the same year she retired from St. Teresa’s College as the head of the Sociology department and remained the first citizen of the city from 2005 to 2010. Ms. Williams was a university first rank holder in MA Sociology from the same college.
Ms. Williams was elected to the Corporation council from Kunnumpuram division before being elected as the 16th Mayor in an open ballot, defeating Winne Abraham of the United Democratic Front by 47 votes to 23.
While assuming charge Ms. Williams had said that though she was a political novice she knew the city inside out, thanks to her doctoral research paper which was on the “Renaissance of Kochi City.” The experience of having taught subjects like urban sociology and urban planning during her career spanning about 30 years also came to her aid in discharging her duties as the Mayor.
Her visits for discussions with officials of the Union Urban Development ministry for facilitating the rollout of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) projects remain etched in the memory of officials who were associated with her during that time. For, unlike other municipal heads she never deputed representatives but made it a point to attend them personally.
She is survived by husband T.J. Williams and son Anoop Joachim.