Ms. Betty Lou Willis' Obituary
Betty Lou (Bermel) WILLIS was born into a spirited, loving St. Louis family on March 16, 1923 and died in Nashville April 19, 2022. A graduate of Southwest High and her Bethel’s queen, she met Charlie Willis at a USO dance, and they married in 1944. In Nashville they raised four children with love: Susan, Cathey Pilkinton (Jerry), Bob, and Don (Kacie Kleja) plus 5 grand-children and 7 great-grandchildren. Betty was devoted to her family and to Belle Meade United Methodist Church, writing the church history and serving the Women’s Society as president, bazaar chair, and as a skilled craftswoman and volunteer for many causes.
She enjoyed art, gardening, and flower arranging, and was an avid traveler, traversing the U.S. from Alaska to Florida and from the Maine coast to the Southwest and Hawaii as well as seeing the world: from China to Turkey, Peru, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe several times with Charlie.
Visitation is Friday, April 22, in the Belle Meade Church lounge from 10:30 to noon before a short sanctuary service with a later private burial at Spring Hill Cemetery. Memorial gifts may be given to Belle Meade United Methodist Church Endowment Fund or to Smile Train. She leaves us all with a smile and memories of love, strength, adventure, and laughter.
What’s your fondest memory of Betty?
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Share a story where Betty's kindness touched your heart.
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