George L. Willis
Date:
September 17, 1923 - March 6, 2010
Obituary:
George L. Willis, Ph.D., died in his home in Naples on Saturday, March 6, after a brief illness with cancer.
Dr. Willis was named Professor Emeritus at the University of Toledo, Ohio, where he was a professor in the Political Science Department. He had been a resident of Naples since January, 1990, after retiring from UT. In Naples, he taught Political Science courses at Edison College, Collier County Campus, for several years.
He had been active in several civic associations, including the Collier County Democratic Executive Committee, and served as a precinct chairman. He was also an ardent tennis player.
Family members surviving Dr. Willis are his wife of 58 years, Carolyn S. Willis, of Naples; son, Kelley S. Willis, of Venice, CA; daughter, Georgia Willis, of Baltimore, MD; two granddaughters, Magnolia Rosso, South Pasadena, CA, and Miranda Willis Rosso, of Cuyahoga Falls, OH; and one brother, John S. Willis, of Kingsport, Tennessee. Preceding him in death were one daughter, Julia M. E. Willis; brothers Paul G. and Gerald Willis; and his parents, Sarah Kelley Willis and Otis Willis, of Ashland, Kentucky.
Dr. Willis was born on September 17, 1923, in Ashland, KY. After being graduated from Ashland High School in 1941, he attended Marshall College in Huntington, West Virginia. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in February, 1943, and advanced to the rank of captain, as a pilot. He served as a flight instructor at U.S. military bases until being stationed as a bomber pilot flying Marauder B-26s in Europe. After duty during and after World War II in the European theater, he returned to the United States. In 2007 in a ceremony in Naples, the nation of France presented the Legion of Honor to Dr. Willis in appreciation of his service there during World War II.
As a veteran attending college on the G.I. Bill, he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science in 1948 from Indiana University, Bloomington, then earned the Master of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Returning to I. U. in 1950, he completed the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Political Science in 1953.

His career as a professor of Political Science included specializing in American National and State and Local government. He was a faculty member at the University of Cincinnati; University of Kentucky, Lexington; Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro; University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, where he was department chairman; and the University of Toledo, Ohio, where he developed a graduate program in Public Administration. He was published in several professional journals and was instrumental in many political campaigns.
A memorial and reception are scheduled for Saturday, March 13, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Fuller Funeral Home, 1625 Pine Ridge Road, Naples. Friends are invited. Inurnment is planned at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia,
in the fall.
Memorial tributes may be directed to the University of Toledo Foundation, 2801 West Bancroft Street, MS 319, Toledo, Ohio 43606 or the Indiana University Foundation, 1500 North State Road, 45/46 Bypass, Bloomington, Iniana 47408 in memory of George L. Willis.
Memorials:
Memorial tributes may be directed to the University of Toledo Foundation, 2801 West Bancroft Street, MS 319, Toledo, Ohio 43606 or the Indiana University Foundation, 1500 North State Road, 45/46 Bypass, Bloomington, Iniana 47408 in memory of George L. Willis.
Cemetery:
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, VA (map/driving directions)
Visitations:
1:00PM to 4:00PM on Saturday, March 13th, 2010 at A memorial gathering and reception at Fuller Funeral Home-Pine Ridge (map/driving directions)

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