Millie passed away on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. She was 96. She was preceded in death by her dearly beloved husband of 33 years, Omar Willis in 2006, parents, Lillian Hand and Dodson Nicholson and a brother Tommy Rogers. She is survived by her brother, Jerry Dismukes (Sara); two nieces, Jerri Richards (Art), Melinda Hagood (Gary); five great nieces and nephews; two children, Selene Patterson (Phil) and Harry Wallis; four grandchildren, Kelly Gamble (Will), Philip Patterson (Erika), Trevor Provencio (Melisa), Dani Emery (Kev); seven great-grandchildren, Alexy Gamble, Trey Gamble, Homer Patterson, Alice Patterson, Solene Provencio, Taia Emery and Tyri Emery.
Millie was born in Springfield Tennessee, was raised until the age of 12 by her paternal grandmother after which she was reunited with her mother.
Millie was a woman of many talents, gifts, and interests. Here are some…
•Being with her friends, having lunch together, traveling/cruising to distant countries and to University of Alabama football games.
•hosting many birthday parties, Kentucky Derby parties, dinner parties.
•Traveling to the beach with Omar was the best of all. Many of these trips included children and grandchildren.
•Being a gifted seamstress. She made most of Selene’s clothes when she was little and many of her own…even an Easter dress with matching hat that she designed and sewed. For her many dinner parties, she would often make her own tablecloths and matching napkins. If she wanted a new bedspread, she would make the coverlet, bed skirt and matching tablecloth.
•Being an avid gardener, growing a rose garden for Omar, sharing her roses with her family and friends.
•Decorating the house. She had a very eclectic sense of design…there was no such thing as too many framed artworks in one house!
•Dancing with Omar at The Club or anywhere. They took disco dancing lessons so they could do The Hustle!
•Giving back. She loved her Sunday School class at Riverchase Baptist Church and enjoyed hosting get togethers with them. She volunteered at Jessie’s Place and at the suicide prevention hot line.
•Loving her family, especially her grandchildren, gave her much joy.
•Tending to the birds in her backyard made her happy.
She worked most of her life. She was a bank teller for several years, a bookkeeper for Grant’s convenience stores for many years…in a one-woman office she did everything, purchase merchandise, pay the employees, organize the work schedules of each store, deposit the proceeds, as well as keeping the books.
She lived independently for 92 Years, 18 years after Omar passed away, until dementia took over.
She will be greatly missed. She was a treasure to so many of us…always upbeat, loving, and fun to be with. To honor her, contributions can be made to Jimmy Hale Mission. Jimmyhalemission.com
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