Alice Louise Willis

Louise Willis (nee Weinert) passed away peacefully in her home Monday, March 30, 2015. Born in Ludington, Mich., on October 10, 1927, Mrs. Willis graduated from the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee with a B.A. in commercial art. She married naval Cmdr. Reid Willis on her birthday in California in 1955, and they enjoyed 53 glamorous years together, madly in love. He preceded her in death in 2008. Mrs. Willis made a living as an artist and display manager. After college, she continued her study of art in Monterey, CA; Yokosuka, Japan; and Arlington, Virginia. She was a fashion artist in New York City and also worked as a display and advertising manager at the Style Shop in Lansing, Mich., where she won the Rothmore Award for display. She worked as an artist for fashionable stores in Los Angeles and Annapolis. After traveling extensively with her husband, she spent her retirement in a quiet neighborhood in Alexandria, VA, adoring her cats and treating the neighborhood to festive holiday displays over the years. Mrs. Willis will be interred next to her husband in Arlington Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Humane Society. A funeral service will be held at Ft. Myer Old Post Chapel with interment to follow at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.