David Williams tries his best to look embarrassed while his wife, Mary Jane, praises him for the support and loving care he’s shown while she has battled colon cancer.

Mary Jane Williams holds a certificate verifying that the flag on the table was on a 17th Cavalry Regiment Kiowa Warrior helicopter during a combat mission in Afghanistan. It was sent to her by military well-wishers.

Mary Jane Williams has said repeatedly that she’s had an amazing life, with very little to complain about.

Glancing at family photos sprinkled around her house, she counts her blessings and puts it simply with a grin, “We sure have had a lot of fun.”

Not until she hit her mid-60s did something unimaginable happen. In 1998, Williams was diagnosed with colon cancer. At first, she said, she felt hopeless and in a state of total shock. But then she felt something many people in her situation wouldn’t.

“Well, then I realized I just can’t sit here and die,” she said. ”… If the cancer is that little, I can get it.”

Williams’ positive spirit radiated through the entire interview, and there is hardly a moment where she is not smiling or laughing at something her husband has said. She says the nurses and doctors at Lawrence Memorial Hospital are amazed at how well her body handles chemotherapy and other medications.

Even after taking off her hat, revealing her post-chemo hair, she keeps to a light tone. She said she’s surprised that after having blonde hair for more than 60 years, it is coming back dark.

Williams has an extensive support network that’s led by her husband. And included in that important network are the nurses and doctors at Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s oncology department. Without their overwhelmingly positive efforts, she said, her cancer would be much more difficult to fight.

But it’s the support of Williams’ husband, David, that’s nothing short of inspiring. From going to the grocery store to researching Williams’ entire family’s medical history, he has been her guiding light — every step of the way.

While Williams’ slow immune system has forced her to spend the majority of her time at home, she keeps busy by reading books and even laughs as she talks about beating her husband in all sorts of fantasy games, including football, golf and NASCAR.

Wearing a breast cancer hat, a smile, and a slew of “Livestrong” bracelets that promote helping search for the cure for cancer, it is clear that at 76 years young, Williams possesses the one thing that is most important during a time such as this: hope.