John Alfred Willis

John Alfred “Jack” Willis was finally able to rest pain-free on September 28, 2024.

Jack was born on June 25, 1939, in Ashland, Ohio, to Giles and Ann (Lindquist) Willis. Son of a contractor, Jack moved often, and attended 17 schools as his father built nuclear power plants, before graduating from Grady High School in Atlanta, GA. 

Attending college at Georgia Tech, UCal Berkeley, and others, he finally graduated from East Carolina University, where he met a cute co-ed named Markey Jones. His early jobs included working in PR for Boys Clubs of America, as a reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, and in administration for Mars Hill College before earning his master’s of science from West Virginia University, which led to his career of almost 40 years in Educational Research and Evaluation. In this capacity, he worked for the West Virginia Department of Education, the Kanawha County (WV) Board of Education, as a consultant with PRC (where he worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs), and finally for Metro Nashville Public Schools from which he retired 3 times, as he did not do well with sitting still. 

However, his career was not his life, and he dedicated many years to social justice work, protesting against wars, and advocating humanitarian causes. Together with wife, Martha, he gave his time and talents to many ministries and organizations. He was also a very involved parent and grandparent, and all of his descendants recall fondly their time spent reading with him.

Jack is preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Martha, and their son, John Burgess Whitehurst Willis. He is survived by two daughters that he proclaimed to have raised to be pains in the ass, Eleanor “Elly” Willis Haddad (David) and Lillian Willis (Jerry Morrison); grandchildren, Sarah Haddad Cothran (Shawn), Rebecca Haddad (Matt Eidson), Phil Haddad (Jesse), Jamie Boeskool, Jackson Boeskool, and Amilie Boeskool; great-grandchildren, Ransom, Auggie, Eisley, Nora, Victor, and Hazel; brother Giles Willis, Jr.; and many loving cousins and relatives.

A celebration of Jack’s life has been scheduled for Sunday, October 27, 2024, at Second Presbyterian Church, 3511 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37215. Family will receive visitors beginning at 1:00, and a Quaker-style service of sharing will take place from 2:00-3:30pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to one of the following: 

• WPLN (https://wpln.org/), which Jack had on almost every hour of every day on an actual radio with a dial.
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• The Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP-USA), which Jack and Martha devoted countless hours to lead workshops dedicated to building a more peaceful and equitable world (https://avpusa.org/)
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• Alive Hospice, where Jack requested to spend his last days (https://www.alivehospice.org/).
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• Or, add to Jack’s contributions to the Harris-Walz campaign (https://kamalaharris.com/), which was very important to him.