Edward Lamar Willis

Funeral service for Edward Lamar Willis Jr. will be held in the chapel of Rabenhorst Funeral Home East, 11000 Florida Blvd., on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 10 a.m., with the Rev. Tommy Middleton presiding. Visitation at the funeral home will be on Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and on Thursday from 8 a.m. until time of service. Interment in Ansley Union Church Cemetery, Ansley, near Ruston, at 3:30 p.m. Edward was born on Sept. 29, 1954, in Albuquerque, N.M., and passed away on Monday, Feb. 1, 2010, in Baton Rouge. He was an employee with Entergy Gas Services in Baton Rouge for 28 years. He was a member of Woodlawn Baptist Church of Baton Rouge, where he served as a deacon. Edward grew up in Ruston and was a member of Barnett Springs Baptist Church. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing. He was preceded in death by his parents, Edward Lamar Willis Sr. and Edith Yocum Willis Cash; and brother, Donald Eugene Willis. Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Jeanette Leigh Woods Willis; daughter, Bridget Charline Willis, 17, of Baton Rouge; sister, Lillian Marie Willis Williamson; two brothers, David Lee and Steven Dale Willis, of Ruston; and nieces, nephews, cousins and a host of friends. Honorary pallbearers are the deacons of Woodlawn Baptist Church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Woodlawn Baptist Church Building Fund or Ansley Union Church Cemetery Association. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31.   >