Willis Howard Williams

Willis H. Williams, M.D. of Atlanta, Georgia passed away at age 83 at Emory University Hospital on October 1st, 2024, after a long and honorable battle with a chronic illness. Willis had family by his side until his passing. He is survived by his friend and partner Dianne Bailey, his three sons, Robert, Eric, Christopher and their wives, and Alice F. Williams, mother of his three sons. He has eight beloved grandchildren: Lily, Luke, Ryan, Nathaniel, Allison, Evelyn, Grady, and Reid Williams who knew him as Grandpa, Grandpa Willis, and Papa Willis. He is also survived by his younger sister Martha Williams Homme.

Willis was born on June 9th, 1941, in Sanford, North Carolina the son of two public school teachers. He grew up in the small, rural town of Robbins, NC. A battle with Polio marked his early life from age 6 to 12. After requiring care for many years, he overcame adversity with grit, determination, intellect, and purpose. Willis was gifted musically and conducted his own jazz band in high school. He developed a deep sense of service as a Boy Scout rising to Eagle Scout He excelled academically. Willis was a Morehead Scholar at UNC Chapel Hill and was part of a unique honors program, completing both undergraduate school and medical school at Chapel Hill. Willis chose the path of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery becoming the Chief Resident at the Massachusetts General Hospital, a Fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital, and completing a 2-year stint in the National Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

He left his biggest professional and most lasting personal impact on his community in Georgia. He joined the Emory Clinic Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1976, becoming the first full-time Pediatric Cardiothoracic surgeon in Atlanta, GA. Willis touched the lives of thousands of children with congenital heart anomalies and their families throughout the region. He was influential in the field of congenital heart surgery and children’s cardiac care helping to bring the Children’s Heart Program into national prominence. Dr. Williams, Professor of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, left a legacy of educating residents, fellows, nurses, physician assistants and staff. He was never more alive than when surrounded by his medical and surgical colleagues.

Lymphoma and its treatment cut his career short in 1996. Characteristic of Willis’s work ethic, he outlived his 2-year life expectancy by 28 years thanks to his incredible oncology teams and advancements in oncological care. Despite the premature loss of his surgical career, he remained engaged in the medical community working for the Emory Center for Outcomes Research until his retirement in 2009 becoming Professor Emeritus of Surgery at Emory University.

His later years allowed him to see his children complete their graduate educations in business and medicine. He welcomed three daughters-in-law into to the family. He was fortunate to relish in the births and lives of eight grandchildren. Willis was able to pass on the love of music, medical science, gardening, photography, and the water and a strong work ethic. His life was marked by love, service, and exceeding generosity. He was predeceased by Howard Taft Williams, Swanna Kennedy Williams, and Elizabeth Slack Baker Williams (step-mother).

A memorial service for Dr. Willis H. Williams a will be held at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the campus of Emory University on February 22, 2025, at 4:00PM. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for those wishing to donate to consider the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta (CHOA at CHOA.org).