Mrs. Edna L. Willis

WILLIS, Mrs. Edna L. - Went home to be with the Lord, Thursday, October 17, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. Family hour 10 a.m. Saturday, October 26, 2013 at Grace Emmanuel Baptist Church, 3502 Lapeer Rd., with funeral service commencing at 11 a.m. Pastor Marvin A. Jennings, Sr., officiating. Interment Lovedale Memorial Cemetery, G-5175 E. Bristol Rd. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the church 10 a.m. Saturday. Mrs. Willis will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 906 W. Flint Park Blvd., and may be viewed from 1-8 p.m. Friday. Mrs. Edna Lucille Willis was born in Marion, Ohio, the daughter of Samuel L. Smiley and Irene L. (Turner) Smiley Keys. Edna attended the Flint Public School System and was a graduate of the Hurley School of Nursing, where she became a Registered Nurse. Her nursing career included Hurley, McLaren, St. Joseph and Flint General Hospitals. Edna later became the instructor of Hurley Hospital teaching Nurse’s Aide Classes. She was blessed with the gift of helping and continued her nursing career at Flint Public Health Department, where she was a Visiting Nurse for twelve years. During this period she ministered to the physical, emotional and spiritual body of her clients. In 1974, she transitioned to the Genesee County Health Department, as a Visiting Nurse. After ten years, she retired from the Genesee County Sheriff Department as Supervisor of Nursing. After her retirement, Edna relocated to Scottsdale, Arizona, where she continued helping in the area of nursing at Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. Edna served on the Nurse Ministry at Grace Emmanuel Baptist Church for over ten years. Mrs. Edna Lucille Willis leaves to cherish loving memories: two daughters, Tammie Smiley of Scottsdale, AZ and Tracey (Derek) Edwards of Atlanta, GA; son, Tyron Willis of Rockford, IL; three grandchildren, Tyron Willis Jr. of Los Angeles, CA, Taylor Smiley of Montana and Gabrielle Edwards of Atlanta, GA; two sisters, Joyce Keys of Palm Bay, FL and Dorothy Robinson of Fenton, MI; 5 brothers, Samuel (Marianne) Smiley, Emmett (LaVerne) Smiley, Roosevelt (Sylvia) Keys, all of Grand Blanc, MI, Michael (Janet) Keys of Kalamazoo, MI and Terrance (Sharon) Keys of Ann Arbor, MI; two aunts, Thelma Haywood and Rosemary Turner, both of Flint; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends including special friends, Delores Robertson, Marlene Moore, Arie Lee Carpenter, Helene Gurley, Shirley Jones, Ida Showkerr, Hazel Willis and Barbara Jefferson. Mrs. Willis was preceded in death by her parents, Willie and Irene Keys; brother, Willie Jackson Keys; and many other dear family members.