(Also on gravestone: June E. June 30, 1924-Nov. 30, 2011)
Franklin Daily Journal 22 Jan 2002
MARTINSVILLE
Ralph Willis
Ralph Willis, 84, died Monday, Jan. 21, 2002, at St. Francis Hospital & Health Centers in Beech Grove. He was a resident of Martinsville.
He was born Jan. 12, 1918, in Inman, Va. His parents were George W. and Laura (Finn) Willis. He married June Elizabeth (Blondell) Willis on Nov. 30, 1947. She survives. Other survivors include two sons, Bill Willis of Franklin and Jerry Willis of Martinsville; a daughter, Brenda Stevens of Martinsville; five brothers, Bud Willis of Kentucky and Leroy, George, Charles and John Willis, all of Virginia; three sisters, Irene Willis of Virginia, Elizabeth Ann Bates of Tennessee and Eileen Pence of North Carolina; nine grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Walter Jesse, in 1978; two brothers, Hobert and Leon Willis; an infant sister; and three other sisters, Alice McElhaney, Ruby Martin and Edna Carrier.
He retired from coal mining in 1960, when he moved to Martinsville and began farming.
He was a member of Shelby Street Pentecostal Lighthouse Church in Greenwood.
He was an outdoorsman.
He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II, serving as a tech sergeant in the 9th Infantry Division.
Brothers Wayne Grace and Tom Baker will conduct a service at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Neal and Summers Mortuary in Martinsville. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. until service time Wednesday at the mortuary. Burial will be at New South Park Cemetery in Martinsville.
Memorial contributions may be made to American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1127, Martinsville, IN 46151.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=65263440
