Debra Willis

DEBRA L. WILLIS

Cedar Rapids

Debra L. Willis, 65, of Cedar Rapids, formerly of Tipton, Wapello and Muscatine, died peacefully Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, at Fry Funeral Home in Tipton with visitation before the funeral from 10 to 11 a.m. Burial will follow in Tipton Masonic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. Online memorials may be shared at www.fryfuneralhome.com.

Debra, daughter of Lloyd and Kathleen Smith, was born May 16, 1954, in Eagle Pass, Texas. She graduated with the Class of 1973 in Wapello, Iowa. On Aug. 5, 1972, she was united in marriage to Alan Gary Willis in Nashua, Iowa, (Little Brown Church). She worked as a financial services director and traveled to many nursing homes as a consultant. Since retirement, she worked as a receptionist for Grand Living in Cedar Rapids. Debra was very talented in the arts, she could draw and paint almost anything. She wrote poems and decorated cakes for family weddings and birthdays. She volunteered at the Iowa City Restore and to combat domestic violence in Muscatine. Above all, she enjoyed being with family, especially her grandchildren.

Debra is survived by her two children, Jennifer (Sean) Stewart of Humboldt and Joseph (Katie) Willis of Iowa City; her three grandchildren, Fletcher and Livia Stewart and Ella Willis; and her sister, Brenda Jackson of Nichols.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Alan Gary Willis; and her sister, Sandra Ronan.