Kenneth Willis

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Kenneth Willis, 72, of Olive Branch died Monday, Feb. 7, 2011, at Calvin Johnson Care Center in Belleville, Ill.

He was born Nov. 14, 1938, in Alexander County, son of Carl and Althea Snookie Willis.

Kenneth was a retired farmer. He was a member and council chairman of Tamms United Methodist Church, 30-year member of Cairo Masonic Lodge 237, member of Shriners International, BPO Elks Lodge, Pulaski-Alexander County Farm Bureau, University of Illinois Extension Council, served as board chairman of Central Alexander County Public Water District, board member of South Water and a former board member of Central Alexander County Sanitary District.

He served eight years with the Army National Guard.

Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Bonnie Thurston Willis; two daughters, Denise (Phil) Jones of Tupelo, Miss., Bethany (Tom) James of Cape Girardeau; six grandchildren, Eli and Benjamin Jones, Ross, Reid, Grant and Lilly James; two brothers, Lynn (Helen Ann) Willis of Tamms, David (Deborah) Willis of Miller City, Ill.; a sister, Melody Elias of Paducah, Ky.; several nieces and nephews.

Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. today at Jones Funeral Home in Tamms, Ill. Masonic service will be at 7, conducted by Cairo Lodge 237.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with Pete Vinson officiating. Full military honors will be provided by Illinois National Guard Honor Detail and area veterans. Interment will be in Olive Branch Cemetery.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of memorials to Dodge Memorial Library, Olive Branch; Shriners Hospital for Children, Office Development, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607; or to American Cancer Society, 4503 West Deyoung, Suite 200C, Marion, IL 62959, in memory of Kenneth Willis.