Denna Marshay Williams of Hampton, VA, transitioned early morning on November 26, 2025, in Newport News, VA. She was born on February 27, 1970, in Hampton, VA, and graduated from Hampton High School and received an Associate's Degree from Thomas Nelson Community College. A loving mother of four daughters, she was known as a fun-loving, incredibly resourceful woman who could always make something out of nothing. She was also known for taking care of the neighborhood children in her home and in her roles at church.

Those who knew her best say she was a lover of music, scary movies, and anything to do with fashion and the arts. You could catch her dancing, singing, enjoying the spiciest foods, and hanging out with her friends. She had many roles in her life, including children's choir director at The Messiah Center in Hampton, government contractor, writer for The Daily Press, and many technical and customer service roles in multiple industries. She was also a serial entrepreneur, owning her own hair styling business and certified dog training company: Diamond Life Services. She was a people person who could make friends anywhere she went. A lover of the arts, she encouraged her daughters at a young age to sing, dance, play instruments, and even had them in Broadway musicals. She loved anything antique and was a collector of old artifacts and paintings by Black artists. She even picked up the skill of painting and drawing herself in her later years.

Though Denna was an incredibly independent person and struggled to maintain personal relationships with her family and friends later in her life, she was a force and made an incredible impact on all who knew her. You could never forget a person like her. She will be incredibly missed.

In addition to her late grandparents, Fulton and Carrie McQueen Legett, Denna was predeceased by her maternal mother Deborah Delores Gilcreast, who transitioned just earlier this year on April 11, 2025.Denna is survived by her daughters, Christina McDonald (Devin), Michelle Williams, Timesha Williams, and Destiny Pipito (Stefano); grandchildren Kayla, Zoey, and Calvin; father, Elder Ernest J. Gilcreast; siblings, Rodney Larmont Gilcreast, Stephanie Bynum, Teresa Edloe; aunts Nancy Doswell (Leroy) Clara Hassan; and uncle Gmal Hassan as well as her many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.

Denna Marshay Williams passed away on November 26, 2025. Born in Hampton, Virginia on February 27, 1970, she was the daughter of Ernest J. Gilcreast and the late Deborah Gilcreast.

Funeral services will be private.