Craig Wills

Craig Eugene Wills passed away on October 26, 2026, at the age of 69. He was born on June 18, 1957 to Vivian Juanita Layne and Doyce Windell Walker. Raised in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, he graduated from Lamar High School, spent a year at Northwestern, then later attended and graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nuclear Engineering. He served in the United States Air Force as an enlistee, attended Officer Training Course, and finished his military career as a Captain. He married Alicia Rene Smith in 1978 and they had two children together: Craig Eugene Wills II and Vanessa Rene Wills.

After leaving the military, Craig worked at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state for 8 years. During that time, Craig was called by his faith to become a pastor. When his children graduated high school, he moved back to DFW to attend seminary at Brite Divinity School, earning a Master's Degree in Divinity. He served churches as a pastor for 8 years in Fort Worth, Rockdale, and Runaway Bay. Years later, he returned to engineering - working for Mitsubishi's nuclear program as a principal project engineer, project management for Arlington ISD overseeing new constructions and projects, and Boeing as a lead systems engineer for the B-52 and the Air-Launched Cruise Missile programs. Throughout his career, he was well respected by peers and often served as a mentor to many people.

A consummate traveler, he spent his life exploring as much of the world as he could. His favorite places were Ireland and Scotland. A forever lover of the outdoors, he was particularly proud that he hiked Machu Picchu in 2022. An immensely creative mind, Craig was always coming up with new cooking recipes, baking, painting, building things, and writing the occasional poem. He loved to read – his house was always full of books – science-fiction & fantasy were his favorite genres. Craig's favorite books of all time were The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

He loved wine, scotch, board games, and most especially, sharing whatever he had cooked or baked with family and friends while enjoying their company. Everyone who met Craig always commented on his infectious passion for his interests: cooking, gaming, reading, hot peppers, traveling, music, and the list goes on and on. Craig was a man who loved with his whole heart and never gave anything less than 100%. He accepted everyone as they were and always had sage advice for those who needed it.

Craig loved music and theater. He went to as many concerts throughout his life as he could – among his favorites were artists such as Queen, Bruce Springsteen, P!nk, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Steely Dan, and many many more. He volunteered for local theater companies; directing, acting, and sound production. He loved traveling to NYC to see shows on Broadway and catching any show that was on tour.

Though Craig had many interests and titles throughout his life, his proudest role and title was Granddaddy to his 6 grandkids.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Doyce and Vivian; his adoptive father, Herman Wills; and his ex-wife, Alicia. He is survived by his two children, son Craig Wills II and his wife, Lily; daughter Vanessa Clay and her husband, Anthony; and his grandkids, Dallas, Louisa, Calvin, Aurora, Levi, and Tristan; his brother, William Brown and his three children, Jennifer Miller, Hogan Brown, and Hayden Brown.

He showed those who knew him what it truly meant to live life to its fullest.