Marie Willis

Mrs. Marie Herndon Willis, 96, of Wake Forest, formerly of St. Pauls, passed away peacefully Thursday, December 07, 2017 at Transitions Hospice Home in Raleigh, N.C. She was born in St. Paul’s, N.C. to the late Hope Dantzler and Mary Edens Herndon on July 18, 1921. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Always one to stay busy she worked tirelessly at any job she took on. During World War II she supported troops as she worked at Pope Air Force Base. She held these times as some of her fondest memories. Upon graduating from Worth Business College she started as a legal secretary until taking the role of bookkeeper at Colonial Frozen Foods, where she worked until retiring at the age of eighty. She married the late Thomas J. Willis May 9, 1948. They were married for sixty-six years. She was a long time member of the St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. Since 2012, she had resided at the The Lodge in Wake Forest where she had many supportive and loving friends. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, T.J. Willis. Survived by daughter, Pamela Willis Hardee and her husband Gary; grandson, Thomas Hardee and wife Amy, great grandson, Anderson Hardee, grandson Tanner Hardee and wife Ashley, sister-in law, Mrs. Jerry Willis, and many nieces and nephews who she loved dearly. A graveside service will be held Sunday, December 10, 2017 at 3:00 PM at the Gardens of Faith Cemetery in Lumberton, N.C. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to your local hospice or St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 283, St. Pauls, N.C. 28384. Arrangements by McNeill Mackie Funeral Home of St. Paul’s.