Mrs. Jo Ann Ivy Willis, age 76 of Sewanee, died on December 1, 2015 after a brief illness. She was born on June 6, 1939 in Vicksburg, Miss., to Wilma Henry Ivy and William Addison East Ivy. She grew up in Vicksburg and Clarksdale, Miss., and attended Millsaps College. She was the first female lay minister in the Methodist Church in Mississippi. She marrried Willian Rodger Willis in 1960.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband and her half-brother, Clyde Ivy. She was a retired head resident at the University of the South. Before moving to Sewanee she was a data analyst for Abbott Laboratories in Dallas. She pursued a variety of interest during her life: she played women’s professional football in the early 1970s for the Dallas Bluebonnets; helped found the North Texas Women’s Soccer Association, where she was inducted into its Hall of Fame; and sang tenor with the greater Dallas chapter of Sweet Adeleines International for more than 20 years.
She is survived by her sons John (Laura) Willis of Sewanee, Tenn., and will Henry (Lisa Moore) Willis of Minneapolis, Minn., her brother Charles (Ellen) Ivy of Charlotte, N.C., and four grandsons.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the University of the South’s Rainbow Fund, 735 University Ave., Sewanee, TN 37383
A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Arrangements by Layne Funeral Home. laynefuneralhome.com
