Willene "Will" L Willcutt

Will was a firecracker. From her earliest days as a child in Sumrall, Mississippi—just outside of Hattiesburg—she wandered the fields and forests surrounding the family farm with her brothers Curtis, Jimmy, Bobby, Carol, all deceased, and Bennie, who still resides in Hattiesburg. A sister, Robin, died at the early age of four. Their parents Annie May, a schoolteacher, and Wilmer, a farmer after retiring from the Mississippi Highway Department, are buried in Hattiesburg.

Will attended Pearl River Junior College, where she learned to become a hairstylist, working out of her apartment. She had a parakeet that sat on the kitchen faucet and sang while she trimmed her customer’s hair. That’s where she met her future husband, Herman Willcutt, from Spanish Fort, Alabama, near Mobile. His studies eventually led them to Birmingham, where he became a faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and where Russ and Mitch were raised. Will also worked in management positions at the university.

In Bluff Park, they became early members of Shades Crest Baptist Church, forming lasting relationships on the mountain. Many will miss her sparkling enthusiasm and contagious laughter, both of which were a hallmark of her life.

A visitation for Will will be held Monday, December 30, 2024 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM at Ridout's Valley Chapel in Homewood, with the funeral service following at 1:00 PM. Burial will follow at Elmwood Cemetery. Casual dress is acceptable.