Lisa Ann Willis

Lisa passed away on March 8, 2023 in St. Louis, MO, surrounded by her family. Lisa was a wonderful, kind hearted, caring, loving mom, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and person. She brought a lot of joy to the people around her. Despite having a very hard life due to mental illness, she was able to persevere through many hard years. She is survived by her son, Shane Haefner, her parents, David and Laurel Willis, an older brother, Scott (Amy) Metzner, an older sister, Claudia (John) Jenkins, and 2 younger sisters, Stephanie (Jason) Morris, and Rachel (Vernon) Washington, her nieces and nephews, Chandler (Jacob) Zyjewski, Hunter Jenkins, Troy Jenkins, Connor Jenkins, Victoria Jenkins, Ruby Morris, Beckham Morris, Beau Washington, David Washington, and June Washington. Lisa was involved in many activities with her family. Lisa and her siblings had the typical rivalries while growing up, but they cared deeply for each other and shared many life experiences, laughter, love, and sorrow, over the years. If you knew Lisa, you know she loved you unconditionally. Her brother in laws, nieces and nephews will tell you that she didn't expect anything out of them, but just appreciated them for who they were. She was ALWAYS happy to see them.

Raised in St. Louis, MO, she was brought up to love unconditionally, be of service to others and to have faith in God. These were traits that she would carry with her throughout her life and in death. She had recently started reading the Bible again and having discussions with Mom and Dad, but mainly Dad, about her beliefs and faith. She signed up at least 5 times in her life to be an organ donor. In her death, she was able to give the opportunity of life to at least 2 other people. We are not suprised by her generosity, but in awe of her selfless gifts. She is a hero. She always wanted to do something big with her life and she has. She has touched so many people, and with her gifts, will be touching more.

Many words can be used to describe Lisa. She was modest, quiet, funny, observant, taking in everything around her and always thinking. She was easy to sit with and she was content to be around just a few people at a time. She was a friendly person to her family, and she truly cared about those around her. Lisa used to give what little money she had to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. She would even send cash in the mail to them! Her favorite job was being Shane's mom. But as far as her employment went, her favorite job was working at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She got a lot of satisfaction out of working there.

Growing up, Lisa was one of those kids who didn’t need to be in the center of any attention. She had a few best friends in her adolescent years and as she grew into adulthood, had a few friends, but mainly stuck close to family. She was content to entertain herself, too. In just about everything she did as a child, Lisa was determined. She was competitive and strong-willed. She could be stubborn. She knew it and laughed when we would tease her about it.

Lisa took part in a number of activities as a child. She was a gifted piano player. She liked music. She loved to ride her skateboard, play soccer, run track, and play softball as a kid. She didn't mind getting dirty. She happily cut the grass so her older sister, Claudia, never had to. She was a Girl Scout for many years and our mom was a Girl Scout leader. In her spare time Lisa liked to be outside. She loved to lifeguard, too. She loved to exercise any way that she could. She loved being fit. She excelled at it and it made her happy. She always pushed herself to do more.

Lisa enjoyed learning and she was good at it. She graduated from Bishop DuBourg in 1996. Lisa continued her education at St. Louis Community College and even taking some classes at UMSL. She loved being a lifelong student. She really enjoyed taking classes like Psychology and Chemistry. She was very smart and loved a good conversation to show you how intellectual she really was.

Lisa's pets, Puffin and Hershey, were her two favorite pets and she was devastated by having to give them up. She loved her cats. Lisa was as loyal to her pets as they were to her. One wasn't so nice and we would laugh all of the time about it, but she loved them dearly.

Anyone who knew Lisa, knew how special she was. She loved her son, Shane, with all of her heart and then some. She was always happy to see him, talk to him, or talk about him. She was so proud of him. When she felt joy, you could feel it. She had a pure heart and would give you anything she could if she had it. Her face lit up when she smiled. She struggled so much in life, that while we all will miss her, we know she is now at peace and for that, all of us are grateful. Selfishly, we will all miss her smile, her laugh, her humor, her voice, and her ability to love without conditions.

A special thanks to Edmond and Claudette Trentman for giving her the gift of life.

Please join us in celebrating her life. Visitation will be held at Hoffmeister from 5pm-8pm on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. Services will be held at St. Gabriel's Church located at 6303 Nottingham Ave, St. Louis, MO 63109, on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 10:00a.m. She will be buried in Resurrection Cemetery in Affton, MO.