Debra Louise (Smith) Willis

Debra L. Willis, 65, of Cedar Rapids, formerly of Tipton, Wapello and Muscatine, died peacefully on Saturday, February 15, 2020. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, February 20, 2020 at 11:00 am, Fry Funeral Home, Tipton with visitation held prior to the funeral from 10:00 to 11:00 am. Burial will follow in the Tipton Masonic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, family requests that donations be made to the University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art. 

Debra, daughter of Lloyd and Kathleen Smith, was born on May 16, 1954 in Eagle Pass, Texas. She graduated with the Class of 1973 in Wapello, Iowa. On August 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 different 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 as she could draw and paint almost anything. She wrote poems and decorated cakes for family weddings and birthdays. In the 80’s she volunteered in Muscatine for Domestic Violence and most recently the Iowa City Restore. Above all, she enjoyed being with family, especially her grandchildren.

Debra is survived by her two children, Jennifer (Sean) Stewart of Humboldt, Iowa and Joseph (Katie) Willis of Iowa City, Iowa; her three grandchildren, Fletcher and Livia Stewart and Ella Willis; her sister, Brenda Jackson of Nichols, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Alan Gary Willis, and her sister, Sandra Ronan.

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