Donald Willis

Donald Willis, 85, of Beaufort, NC died Tuesday, August 9, 2011 at Carteret General Hospital.

Services will be held 11:00 am Saturday at Munden Funeral Home with Rev. Eric Lindblade officiating. Inurnment will follow at Carteret Memorial Gardens.

Mr. Willis was the son of Earl and Myrtle Willis. He was a member of Ann Street United Methodist Church. He served his country in the U.S. Navy in WWII and went on to retire from the U.S. Coast Guard as a Chief Electricians Mate.  After his military service he went on to continue his career as an electrician and retired again from Civil Service at Cherry Point. He was an avid decoy carver and a member of the Decoy Carving Guild as well as the Masons and the Shriners.  He was an exalted man and his family was his life.  He will be eternally loved and missed.

He is survived by his daughter, Donna Bennett and her friend, John Manousaridis, of Morehead City; son, Donnie Willis, II and wife Cathy of Beaufort; daughters, Paula Williams and Harriet Weeks and husband Bobby, all of Beaufort; son, Alton Hill and wife Debra, of Beaufort; sister, Erlene Kittrell of Morehead City; brother, Earl Ray Willis of Scottsdale, AZ; grandchildren, Jordan Willis of Beaufort, Hayden Willis of Missoula, MT, Jo Anne Wilkerson of Dumfries, VA, Jackie Lancaster of Morehead City, Joni Dennis of Beaufort, Austin Hill of Santa Monica, CA, Asheigh Bove of Washington, DC; and five great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Pauline Willis and sister, Kay Taylor.

The family will receive friends 6:00 to 7:30 pm Friday at the funeral home.

Flowers are welcome or memorials may be made to the Shriners Hospitals for Children at donate2shc.org or by calling 1-800-241-4438.

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