Leona Williams of Burnet honored as HPU's 2013 Coming Home Queen

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Leona Williams was named the 2013 Coming Home Queen at Howard Payne University. She is pictured riding in the HPU Homecoming Parade.

BROWNWOOD , TX (10/10/2013)(readMedia)-- Leona (Sansom) Williams, a retired schoolteacher from Burnet, was honored last week by her alma mater, Howard Payne University, during the university's annual Homecoming celebrations. Williams was named the 2013 Coming Home Queen and was recognized during the university's Alumni Awards Banquet on Friday night, and featured in the Homecoming Parade on Saturday morning.

Williams, who graduated from Howard Payne in 1945, has a family legacy at the university. Her father, Leslie Sansom, served as the captain of the football team in 1912 and her mother also attended. Williams graduated at the same time as her sister, Emagene. While attending Howard Payne, she worked in the registrar's office. 

Williams continues to assist others by teaching Sunday School at First Baptist Church of Burnet. She works part time at a local funeral home, leads worship at the nursing home once a month and often visits those in need. Her husband, C.W. Williams, is deceased.

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Founded in 1889, Howard Payne University is a Christ-centered academic community dedicated to excellence by developing and equipping the whole person for intellectual inquiry, personal and professional integrity, and service to God and humanity.

Located in Brownwood, Texas, HPU offers a full array of undergraduate programs and a limited number of graduate programs in a traditional residential academic community. The university also offers selected undergraduate and graduate course work by electronic means and at extended learning centers in El Paso, Texas, and New Braunfels, Texas. HPU maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio, which contributes to the university's reputation of being "a place where everybody is somebody."