Evelyn E. Willis

Evelyn English Willis of Callaway, Virginia passed away at her home on Aug. 3, 2023 surrounded by her family. She was born in Union Hall, Virginia to parents Fitzhugh Taylor English and Sallie Fannie Mattox English. Evelyn was a fiercely independent woman who faced adversity over her 98 years of life but met each challenge with poise and perseverance. A life-long gardener, you’d always find her outside tending to rows of vegetables and weeding her many flower beds. She was a selfless person who always put others first. 

Evelyn was preceded in death by her sister Mildred Violet Semones and brother-in-law Wilson; sister Flossie Sigmon and brother-in-law Eural; sister Etheline English; brother James English and sister-in-law Mary Ann; son Clifford Dalton Willis, Jr. and daughter-in-law Sue; daughter Janet Willis; niece Joyce Wilkins; nephew Bobby Semones and his wife Mabel; and nephew Wayne Sigmon.

She is survived by son Jeff Willis; grandchildren Gary Willis, Tammy Willis, Michael Hickman, and Sadie Willis and her boyfriend Gaige Dalton; great-grandchild Weston Dalton; nephew James English and his wife Jennifer; niece Theresa Gheen and her husband Elmer; Kathy Lewis and her husband Larry; niece Eloise Fralin and her husband Fred; great-nephew Mike Semones; great-nephew Dave Semones and wife Deborah; great-niece Monica Nakagawa and her husband Patrick; brother-in-law Bobby Willis; niece Lucinda Scruggs; niece Lisa Crotts and husband Tom; nephew Jimmy Gray; many others in her extended family; and special friends Edna Bowles, Del Webb, Joyce Ann Jamison, and Arlet Greer.

Visitation will be at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 7, 2023 at Piedmont Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Callaway, Virginia with funeral service immediately following at 11 a.m. Burial will be after the service at Pigg River Church Cemetery in Callaway, Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.

Arrangements by Conner-Bowman Funeral Home & Crematory, 62 VA Market Place Drive, Rocky Mount, VA 24151.