Winston Churchill once said “we make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

If you live in the Union School District — particularly if you have children at Union Elementary School — hearing those words should instantly make one think of Terry Williams.

Williams has made a life by giving back, using some of that which he was blessed to receive to benefit others.

Those others, in this case, begin with Union Elementary School students and parents and extend to anyone traveling U.S. Highway 421 during those busy school hours in the morning and again in the afternoon.

On Wednesday, we published a story about Williams’ generous gift: caution lights he purchased and paid to have installed that are now used when parents pick up and drop off their children each day at the school.

The hefty price tag of $25,000 wasn’t too large a price to pay, Williams told The Independent, given that the gift helps ensure greater safety on U.S. 421, particularly during those heavy traffic volume times when school is beginning and ending each day.

Williams, a member of the Union District Advisory Council and a former educator in the Sampson County Schools system, has no children attending school. But he loves his community, loves the children and wants what’s best.

It was that motivation, along with a desire to honor his now deceased fiancée, also a long-time educator, that paved the way for the caution lights.

But it’s not just the purchase that impresses us about Williams’ gift.

It’s the time he took to accomplish the task, and his willingness to refuse to merely accept no for an answer, taking matters into his own hands when no other avenue seemed to open.

He worked tirelessly for extended periods of time trying to wade through the mounds of red tape one has to go through to get anything done when it comes to highways and roadways.

Between the tangled webs of state government and the county school system, the efforts were taking inordinate amounts of time, particularly for Williams, who could see how imperative it was to erect those caution lights.

As it often is with traffic lights, previous requests had been thwarted, deemed unnecessary based on traffic counts and other findings often used to determine how money will be spent.

But Williams was not deterred in his efforts, deciding if the state or the county would’t, or couldn’t, spend the money, he would.

Using money from the sale of land his fiancée, Janice Melton, had left him, Williams purchased the caution lights himself and then paid to have them installed.

Today, what was once a heavily traveled U.S. 421 near the elementary school, where accidents seemed to always occur, is now an area where vehicles are alerted to be cautious.

As UES principal Melissa Finch said, the efforts have brought more awareness to the school zone and, in our estimation, it has also increased safety.

Williams is too humble to acknowledge his own efforts without great prodding, but those in the Union School District have to know what this one man did from his heart has benefited an entire community and beyond.

And he’s not done yet. Williams’ next project centers on Union Intermediate School. A turning lane is needed in that area, he has said, but whether that happens it not, he’s intent is to see if caution lights can be erected and new signs installed.

It should really not be up to Williams to take on yet another project that the state should find a way to fund, but knowing this retired educator, we are sure if no one else paves the way, he will.

We applaud his willingness to go above and beyond. His willingness to give back to his community is a shining example of Churchill’s words, and a shining example to us all of how everyone can make a difference if we simply try.