Mr. Richard Andrew Willis, 88, of Noxapater, Mississippi, passed away on Saturday, July 9, 2011, at Mississippi State Veterans Home in Kosciusko, Mississippi. Visitation will be at Nowell-Massey Funeral Home, on Sunday, July 10, 2011, from 5:00 p.m. until 7 p.m. and on Monday, July 11, 2011, from 9 a.m. until service time. Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, July 11, 2011, at Nowell-Massey Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Wayne Sanders and Rev. Davey Wilkerson officiating. Interment will follow in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Noxapater. He was born June 3, 1923, to Samuel Elvin and Bonnie Bell Ingram Willis. Mr. Willis, a retired carpenter and policeman, was a member of Noxapater Baptist Church. He served his country during World War II during which he received four Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart Award.
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Ann McNeel Willis of Noxapater, Mississippi; one daughter, Lee Ann Rhaly, and husband, Barry, of Lauderdale, Mississippi; and four grandchildren: Katie Rhaly, Ashley Rhaly, Andrew Rhaly and Julie Bone. He was preceded in death by his parents, Samuel Elvin and Bonnie Bell Ingram Willis; a son, J. R. Willis; and a grandson, Richard Lane Willis.
Pallbearers will be Paul David Hamilton, Billy Gene McNeel, Phil Chapel, Jerome Kittrell, Jimmy Nowell and Keith Nowell. Memorials may be made to Mt. Carmel Landscape Fence Fund. Nowell-Massey Funeral Home, 724 North Columbus Avenue, Louisville, Mississippi, is handling local arrangements. You may sign the guestbook at www.nowellmasseyfuneralhome.com.
