Willis was born in Boynton, Oklahoma, the son of Joe McCollum & Grace Richardson. He grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma and attended Muskogee Public Schools until he had to drop out at age 13 to begin working the cotton fields of the area. He later joined the U.S. Army serving two years while stationed in Germany. After his military service Willis and a close friend hopped a freight train with plans to "hobo" across the Southwest. He recollected how they sometimes went days without anything to eat, and how they ate their first orange that they picked right off an orange tree shortly after arriving in California, and he remarked about how fresh and truly wonderful it had tasted. After his sight-seeing adventure he returned to his Oklahoma home. It was in Haskell, Oklahoma that he met Hope Rombach who was working in a local café. They struck up an acquaintance and soon fell in love. They married in Haskell on September 2, 1953 and moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma before finally settling in Bixby in 1965, where they bought their home and raised a family of four children. Willis worked as a television repairman for many years until finally working for Safeway as a produce manager until he retired. It is this author's experience, albeit that I've only known Willis for the past 15 years, that he was a genuinely friendly man who definitely had the Irish gift of gab. He loved to tell stories of days gone by and was quite good at it. His presence in the home and at family gatherings will definitely be missed. Willis quietly departed this life on the afternoon of Friday, August 16, 2019 due to issues relating to age and failing health. He was 91 years and 4 months of age. His memorial service was held on August 21, 2019 at 2pm at the Rivercrest Chapel in Bixby, Oklahoma. Interment was at Haskell Cemetery in Haskell, Oklahoma. [More to follow]