A pair of strokes have left Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams, so ill he can barely speak, according to a new report. The 79-year-old Mr.
Williams suffered a pair of strokes a couple of years ago and also suffers from a neurological condition that inhibits his speech, according to a Daily Mail report citing Florida’s Palm Beach County Circuit Court records.
Chavoitalesane@ We had a long drive from coast to coast, but I truly enjoyed this time with my Dad…It’s been a few years since we traveled.
I loved every second! Mr. Williams has issued power of attorney to his 47-year-old son, Chavoita LeSane, who is also his interpreter. LeSane is one five children Richard Williams has from his first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1973. Mr. Williams wed Oracene Price, Venus and Serena’s mother, in 1980.
Richard Williams and son Chavoita LeSane are fighting a legal battle with Mr. Williams’ estranged wife, Lakeisha. The couple have a eight-year-old son, Dylan.
In a legal papers filed on November 27th in Palm Beach County, attorneys claim the 40-year-old Lakeisha forged Richard Williams’ signature on mortgage papers which transferred his Florida home to her, the Daily Mail reports.
Mr. Williams’ attorneys filed examples of his signature from 2002 compared to the signature on the 2017 mortgage papers they allege are forgeries.
Richard n Serena Williams, Venus, and Step mum
Additionally, attorneys argued even if Mr. Williams did sign the mortgage papers his “mental capacity was compromised” as a result of his strokes therefore he did not understand what he was signing.
While it was widely reported Mr. Williams had suffered one stroke, court records reveal he suffered two strokes.
When Serena Williams wed Alexis Ohanian on December 29th, 2016, sister Venus was among several family members at the New Orleans wedding, which included celebrity guests Beyoncé, Anna Wintour, Kelly Rowland and Kim Kardashian.
Mr. Williams did not attend Serena’s wedding, reportedly because he was recovering.
Venus and Serena Williams in 1998
Richard Williams close to being killed so many times
Richard Williams was no stranger to racism. Growing up in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the 1940s and ’50s, he says he witnessed a friend being lynched.
Another died after being run over by a white woman who claimed it was the victim’s fault. “There was no investigation, there was no police car,” he says. “But that was life. I was close to being killed so many times. A hell of a lot of times.”
