{"id":9786,"date":"2019-07-02T05:00:18","date_gmt":"2019-07-02T12:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/btsadv.wpengine.com\/?p=9307"},"modified":"2019-07-02T05:00:18","modified_gmt":"2019-07-02T12:00:18","slug":"beloved-mother-sister-and-daughter-taken-too-soon-an-angel-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=9786","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Mother, Sister, and Daughter Taken Too Soon: An Angel Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"<\/a>By Jenn Rockefeller<\/p>\n

Strong-minded. Courageous. Fearless. Giving. Loving. Those are just some words that Joe Williams used to describe his sister, Milli.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Melissa (Milli) Williams is one of the angels Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence (BTSADV) is honoring this year\u2019s Angel Fund<\/a>, which funds scholarships in each angel\u2019s name. These angels lost their lives to domestic violence and to help raise awareness and honor their memories, BTSADV holds an annual campaign for Legacy Families.<\/p>\n

Sadly, Milli was taken too soon and became an angel back in September 2013 at just 22 years old. Despite it being over five years since her death, Joe said he still asks why.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStill to this day I question God’s decision, why my sister and [why] not someone else.\u00a0 But the truth of the matter is, everybody is loved by somebody and it would be selfish of me to think I should be excluded from the pain and hurt of losing someone so dear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Milli\u2019s sister Teikoa also mentioned Milli\u2019s loving nature. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c[Milli] was such a free spirit. She was loving, but was not a pushover. She was loyal as well as receptive to what was going on around her,\u201d she said. \u201cI want the world to know that my sister was an incredible person! She had to go through life and did things her own way. She was such a loyal soul!\u201d<\/p>\n

Milli\u2019s twin brother Michael remembers her as a fighter and protector.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI would want to say [Milli] was a fighter, literally and metaphorically. She was a protector who needed protecting. She was tough AND tender. She loved hard,\u201d said Michael, adding that despite leaving this Earth so tragically, Milli did so with \u201cgreat cause\u201d and hopes she will be an example for other people experiencing the same thing.<\/p>\n

Milli\u2019s mom summed up Milli by saying she \u201cwas one of a kind. Hard working, loving, beautiful in her own way, thoughtful, a loving mother. Her daughters\u00a0were her heart! I miss her so much!\u201d<\/p>\n

Often, those outside of the situation can see the warning signs that something is amiss. But Teikoa said she never noticed any because she [Teikoa] was in the military and didn\u2019t live near Milli.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were, however, some behavior[s] that I heard about where she was acting\u00a0a little differently than normal,\u201d said Teikoa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Teikoa added that she spoke with Milli about three weeks prior to her death and found out about the restraining order and that Milli had broken things off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI asked her if he ever hit her and she said yes. That was the first time l had ever [sic] heard about any abuse.\u00a0Milli experienced extreme loneliness, and regret. She found herself in a situation and did not feel as if she can [sic] trust anyone to get her out of it because she was so self-sufficient and strong she felt that she can take care of it on her own. Later after her death, l found out she was afraid of him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Teikoa never knew that Milli was in danger, so she never talked with her family about supporting Milli or helping her get away. She just told Milli that she was glad Milli put a restraining order on him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so honored and feel empowered to be raising money to help others in my sister\u2019s name,\u201d said Teikoa of the annual Angel Scholarship program that BTSADV organizes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

You can participate in the Angel Fund no matter where you live by donating to Milli\u2019s scholarship. Your active presence from July 1 to 22 could make a huge difference in the life of a survivor. You can find Milli\u2019s scholarship page here <\/a>or text \u201cAngel2216\u201d to 71777.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[348],"tags":[92,235,88,127,13,162,148,90,30,117,31],"class_list":["post-9786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-abuse","tag-angel-fund","tag-angel-scholarships","tag-angels","tag-bts-program","tag-btsadv","tag-domestic-abuse","tag-domestic-violence","tag-forever-bts","tag-physical-abuse","tag-stand-with-bts"],"yoast_head":"\nBeloved Mother, Sister, and Daughter Taken Too Soon: An Angel Story - Break the Silence Against Domestic Violence<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakthesilencedv.org\/?p=9786\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beloved Mother, Sister, and Daughter Taken Too Soon: An Angel Story - 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