Jane Burr Rogers Willis
Published 9:39 am Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Jane Burr Rogers Willis, 82, of Valdosta, Ga., died at home on Nov. 15. She was born in Griffin, Ga., on May 24, 1931, to the late Lewis Alfred and Katherine Randall Rogers. She graduated from Griffin High School and attended Shorter College. She married James Edward Willis of Columbus, Ga., in 1952.
The couple settled in Valdosta with their first two children in 1960.
In Valdosta she was a member of the First Baptist Church, where for nineteen years she led the Sonshine Club program for seniors.
She was active in the Holly Garden Club and in 1975 organized a junior garden club for girls. The Daughters of the American Revolution (General James Jackson Chapter) admitted her to membership on the basis of her descent from patriot Salmon Burr, Sr., of Connecticut.
Around 1970 Mrs. Willis conceived, wrote, and produced a radio show, “Laugh, Learn, and Live,” for regular broadcast on Valdosta’s WGAF, where she then worked. Appearing at Valdosta school carnivals and other community gatherings during the Halloween seasons of the early and mid-1970s, she delighted children with her incarnation of a frightful looking yet friendly witch with treats to share. In 1998 she privately published Mooove Over Rachel – God Needs Your Stall, a Christmas story told from the viewpoint of a cow stabled in the birthplace of Jesus. It was released in a revised edition in 2011.
Mrs. Willis is survived by her husband of sixty-one years; a son, Al Willis; two daughters, Kathi (Mrs. Royden) Hunnewell and Carey Ann (Mrs. Russell) Kirkland; four grandchildren; and a number of cousins.
The funeral service and burial will take place in Valdosta. Carson McLane Funeral Home of Valdosta is in charge of arrangements.