Winona Willis
Age - 97
November 28, 2023
Winona Sorensen Willis passed away in Idaho Falls, Idaho surrounded by her cherished family on November 25, 2023, at the age of 97. She was born in her farmhouse near Moore, Idaho on May 6, 1926, the youngest of five children of Willard Hartvig and Margaret LeNora Jensen Sorensen. Growing up on a busy farm and ranch, she learned to work long hard hours from a young age. She often laughed when her children and grandchildren asked her what it was like to "live in the old days. " But her life did seem like another time. Her home did not have electricity or indoor plumbing until she was a teenager (she had less-than-fond memories of their outhouse with wasps and smells in the summer and a frozen seat in the winter!). Each morning the family started the day by lighting a fire in the big wood stove to warm the house and heat water (often frozen overnight) for the day's meals and farm activities. She helped her mother wash clothes in a big tub and ironed many clothes using flat irons that had to be frequently reheated on the big stove. Each Saturday night her parents pulled out the big copper bathtub for which they heated water on the wood stove-her mom was first, as youngest child she got second. She said the water was very muddy by the time her poor father got his turn last! She and her siblings and friends often rode a big horse named Dolly to school-sometimes five or six kids crowded onto their gentle friend. In the winter Dolly pulled a sleigh to school with several kids huddled in blankets.
When Winona was a teenager her mother fell ill and she had to take over many of the farmhouse duties, besides studying enough to become valedictorian at Arco High School. She single-handedly cooked many giant meals for a large crew of her older brothers and many hired harvest workers. When she was 17 her dear mother passed away. With her older siblings gone from home, she was in charge.
Her father strongly believed his daughters should get a college education and Winona attended Utah State University, leaving a huge void in the kitchen duties at home. At USU she studied Home Economics. A chemistry class was the winner though, due to a handsome redheaded World War II pilot with incredible stories to tell of his three months spent hiding from Germans behind enemy lines in northern Italy. On September 3, 1946 Winona married Curtis Lamar Willis from Snowflake and Mesa, Arizona. They spent two years in Logan while he finished his degree in Agronomy, then a few months in Morgan, Utah as County Agent, before they returned to her beloved Lost River Valley. They started out as starving farmers but he soon hired on at the Atomic Energy Site (now INL) where he eventually became a Health Physicist Supervisor.
They raised seven children as farm and mountain kids: LeNora (Ken Wyler, deceased), Patricia (Steven Hunt), Barbara (Joseph George), Grant (Julie Barrott), Bryce (Stephanie Hatch), Blake (Debbie Carter), and Blair (CharDawn Andrus). She has 32 grandchildren and 49 great grandchildren (with several more on the way). Many have been involved in education, medicine, science, and technology fields at all levels, which have always been priorities in the family. Winona was very active in the community, serving on many charitable committees, as PTA president, and in her LDS church. But, her favorite was as Cub Scout Den Leader, a job she volunteered for when nobody else could handle those rambunctious 8- to 11-year-old boys. She loved those highly energetic bundles of joy and enjoyed their antics almost as much as they did. She was eventually awarded a Silver Beaver for her many years of Scouting service.
The mountains were Winona and Curtis's first love and they spent many Saturdays at Blizzard Mountain Ski Area, which they, with close friends, Eldon and Louis Jean Reynolds and Ray and Freida Tibbitts, built and ran for many years. She went on many backpacking trips with Curtis and the kids-she loved finding a "soft rock" for a well-earned rest. Camping, fishing, and hiking were other favorite activities.
Many exciting plans for retirement were cut short when Curtis was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in his early 50s. They battled the ravishes of this terrible disease together for 20 years. At one point doctors told mom she needed to put Curtis in a care center as she couldn't take care of him alone. After watching the nurses for a couple of months, she said caring for him couldn't be harder than wrestling the sheep and hogs she used to care for and she brought him home. With support from wonderful people in the community she cared for him at home for many years. Her children often marveled at how well she could move him around-better than her sons when they returned home for visits. Her beloved companion passed away on March 9, 1995, at the age of 73. After running her homestead alone for a few years, Winona moved to Idaho Falls to be closer to two daughters and two sons. There she lived for 24 years surrounded by a neighborhood of many close friends and with frequent visits from children and grandchildren. Showing her renowned spunk, she insisted on living at home on her own. In her last few years her granddaughter, Katelyn, a nurse, and husband, Andrey, moved into her basement where they, and another granddaughter nurse, Alyssa, could help care for her. She spent the last month of her life in The Gables Assisted Living Center. We are grateful to all the wonderful nurses who loved mom. Winona was best known for her eternal optimism and cheer, compassionate service, service in many callings, devotion to raising all children in the community, love of her precious children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and love of the gospel. Viewing Thursday, Nov 30, 6:30-7:30 p. m. at Wood Funeral Home, 963 S. Ammon Road. Services will be held in the Stonehaven, Idaho Falls Ward LDS church at 2055 Coronado Street on Friday, December 1 with viewing at 9:00 a. m. and service at 10:00 a. m. Graveside service and burial at the Lost River Community Cemetery near Moore, Idaho at 2:30 p. m. Additional information at Wood Funeral Home website. Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Parkinson's Foundation or the Idaho Falls Humanitarian Center.Show more
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