Willa Lee Jones

Willa Lee Jones, 92, passed away Sunday, July 7, 2019. The funeral will be 2:00 on Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at First Presbyterian Church, Waco, Texas, with Reverend Leslie King officiating. Interment will follow in Oakwood Cemetery in Waco, Texas. Willa was born on February 24, 1927, to J. C. Woods and Margie Westmoreland Woods in Springfield, Ohio. She married Dennie Vance Jones, Sr. on March 21, 1956, a joyous union that produced two sons, Dennie, Jr., and Louis Jay. She graduated from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, class of 1944, and then moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she took a position with the phone company, rising to the level of district manager. It was in Chicago that she met the love of her life, Dennie, Sr. After the birth of her two children, she became a schoolteacher at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, becoming the lead teacher for second grade for ten years, and then Kindergarten for another decade, retiring after 25 years as the Head of the Little School (vice principal). She enjoyed teaching most and after retiring to Waco, Texas, with her husband in 1986, she cofounded the Rappaport Academy in Waco. An avid churchgoer and member of First Presbyterian Church of Waco, she strongly supported Christian education efforts. Willa was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, whom she now joins in eternal rest. Survivors include her sons, Dennie, Jr. (Michelle), and Louis, her three grandchildren, Danielle, Vance and Marissa, whom she adored. For those who desire, the family has suggested that memorial contributions can be made to First Presbyterian Church of Waco.