Irene

Irene Williams was the sister of Hank Williams. She was a journalist and country-music historian. She began her involvement with country music when she served as the booking agent for the "Drifting Cowboy Band," which was lead by her younger brother Hank Williams. In the very early days, she sometimes served as the band's back-up singer and ticket-taker. After Hank's death, she wrote for the magazine Country Song Round-up from 1955 to 1961. After her mother's death she was in charge over the estate and handed Hank Williams illegitimate child Jett Williams over to the welfare system. Maintaining a vast collection of memorabilia about her brother, she opened a museum in his honor in Nashville for a brief time in the late 1980s. Shortly before her death, she sold much of her collection to singer Marty Stuart who presented it in a large exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame. The exhibit was dedicated to Irene. Irene Williams was Hanks older sister. Irene Williams Smith died 23 March 1995.