Willa Mae Smith
June 17, 1929 -
November 25, 2021
Willa Mae Smith, Age 92, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, November 24, 2021 at Aurora Medical Center.
Born on June 17, 1929, she was the daughter of the late James and Jettie Mae (Waldron) Branyan. Willa graduated from Jericho High School in 1947 and attended nursing school in Mississippi.
On October 19, 1947, Willa was united in marriage to Earl Smith. He preceded her in death on March 19, 1998.
Moving from Montgomery Alabama to Kenosha in 1952. Willa was an active member of Redeemer Church formerly Parkside Baptist and volunteered for Hospice Alliance.
Willa was employed as a bookkeeper for Christian Youth Council until her retirement.
She loved to sew and used her talents to create adult and baby quilts for various charities. She made chemo pillows and seat belt pillows for chemo patients for Aurora Hospital. During COVID, she sewed over 150 masks to distribute to anyone who had a need. She loved to read and work brain challenging puzzles. She loved to bake desserts which were the delight of her family. Most of all, she loved her family.
Willa will be dearly missed by her children, Deborah (Tom) Cutts and Greg (Susie Welsh) Smith; her grandchildren, David (Kim) Cutts, Ian (AnnMarie) Cutts, Christopher (Heather) Cutts, Alex Bathe and Michaela Bathe, James (Julie) Cooney, Pete (Yeng) Cooney and Mary Kate (Nathaniel) Stern; her great-grandchildren, Rain Cutts, Ella Cutts, Braydon Cutts, Taylon Cutts, Bryce Ross, Avery Mae Cutts, Hazel, Fiona and Jack Cooney, Julian, Michael and David Stern and Ethan Klinemark, and two very dear friends, Evonne and Nellie.
In addition to her parents, Willa was preceded in death by her husband, Earl; her daughter, Lisa Bathe; her infant son, David Smith; her sister, Sue (Norman) Michel and her brother Jim (Mary Helen) Branyan.
Service Info
Funeral services for Willa will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at the Piasecki Funeral Home, 3720 39th Avenue, Kenosha, WI.
The visitation and service may be viewed via livestream on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. on the following link facebook.com/PiaseckiFuneralHome/live/. You do not need Facebook to watch.
Interment will follow in Sunset Ridge Memorial Park.
A visitation for Willa will be held on Saturday, December 4, 2021 from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at the funeral home.
Memorials given to the family will be donated to Willa’s favorite charities.
Posted by:
Ashley HickmannI just wanted to take a moment to share just how amazing this woman was to myself and my daughter. Heather Cutts, my cousin, is married to Willa's grandson, Christopher Cutts, and I have been lucky enough to share some great moments and memories with her. She truly was so special and kind. She was always trying to help everyone and volunteered to help strangers even. Wish more were like her. My prayers are going out to all of the family and friends of this beloved woman. God Bless you Willa. Love you, Arlonna and I will miss you! Xoxo P.s. Jon said he was so lucky to have met her within the last month of her life. He said "she was such a sweet lady."
Posted by:
Lill HauschildMY COMDOLENCES TO wILLA'S FAMILY. sHE WAS OUR WONDERFUL, SMILING, HELPFUL NEIGHBOR; WE WILL MISS HER.LILLHAUSCHILD #1270
Posted by:
Ron & Betty StevensI am sorry to hear of Willa's passing. Such a wonderful lady. In all the many years I worked with her at the CYC I cannot think of a single day when she didn't come to work with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. Such wonderful memories of a friend and a mentor. My deepest sympathies to you Deb and to your entire family.
