Corrine B. Willis

Corrine Burnett Willis was born on July 25, 1927, on the Burnett farm in Baxter Springs, Kansas to John Wesley Burnett and Margaret “Maggie” Goldie Moore Burnett, one of ten children. She departed this life on Wednesday, October 21, 2020.

She went to grade school in a one-room schoolhouse in Baxter Springs, Kansas and then to Riverton High School. At home, she and her brothers and sisters formed their own choir. She attended Pittsburg Teachers College (now Pittsburg State University) in Pittsburg, Kansas. While there, she joined the Delta Theta Sigma sorority.

Post-World War II, Corrine moved to Washington, D.C. to work for the War Department. It was there that she met Benjamin F. Willis, whom she married in 1952. They remained happily married for 59 years until his passing in 2011.

She worked for a short time at the United States Postal Service. She also worked as Church Secretary for several years at St. Francis de Sales Church. Finally, she worked until retirement as an Office Administrator at George Washington University.

Corrine was a faithful member of St. Francis de Sales Church. She was a member of the St. Francis de Sale Sodality. She supported the Church and the St. Francis de Sales School in many ways including: putting on one-act plays with the children to raise funds for the school; facilitating training sessions for new members of the St. Francis de Sales Sodality; and serving as a Girl Scout leader for a St. Francis de Sales Girl Scout Troop.

Corrine was a loyal and active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) Auxiliary for 34 years. Joining in 1986, under the eligibility of her husband Benjamin F. Willis, a Veteran of the World War II European Theater, she was a charter member of VFW Auxiliary to Woodridge Post 9755 (which has since become Price-Anderson Auxiliary 341). A dedicated and enthusiastic member, she served the organization in several capacities including: Auxiliary President, Auxiliary Secretary, Auxiliary Treasurer, Department Chaplain, Department Junior Vice President, Department Senior Vice President and Department President in 1997-1998 of the Department of the District of Columbia. She then went on to become the National District Council Member Number 4 (2000-2002) representing the Departments of Delaware and the District of Columbia at the National level.

Corrine leaves to mourn: her sister Ruth Geraldine Burnett Dorsey, daughter Cortina Marie (Gerald Sr.) Barnes, son Paul Anthony (Wyckham Avery) Willis; three step-grandchildren (Gerald, Jr., Robin, Carey), six great-grandchildren (Jacob, Caleb, Gabrielle, Jada, Logan, Damien) and a host of other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Benjamin F. Willis, her six brothers (Henry Burnett, William A. Burnett, James M. Burnett, Orville A. Burnett, David A. Burnett, and George W. Burnett) and two sisters (Irene E. Burnett-Lawrence and Fannie E. Burnett-Bassett).