In 1943, Williams sold his extensive back-catalogue of tunes to Decca Records for $50,000 and retired, but then bought a bargain used-goods store, the Harlem Thrift Shop. Williams died in Queens, New York City, in 1965, and was interred in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale on Long Island. On her death in 1977, his wife, Eva Taylor, was interred next to him.
In 1943, Williams sold his extensive back-catalogue of tunes to Decc,a Records for $50,000 and retired, but then bought a bargain used-goods store, the Harlem Thrift Shop. Williams died in Queens, New York City, in 1965, and was interred in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale on Long Island. On her death in 1977 his wife, Eva Taylor, was interred next to him.