LCDR Clayton B. Willis, USN (Ret.)

LCDR Clayton B. “Lucky” Willis, USN (Ret.), 92, passed away peacefully in his home Sept.7, 2013. He was born in Caneyville, Kentucky on November 11, 1920 and enlisted in the Navy at the age of 19. After thirty years of active duty, he retired in 1969. During his career as a corpsman and a pilot, he saved many lives, setting a rescue record in 1955. As a corpsman he became the youngest Chief Pharmacist Mate in the navy, and as a pilot, he flew over twenty-seven different types of aircraft.

An active member of the Perdido Bay Methodist Church, he served as Financial Secretary and as a Board Member. He was a charter member of the Hadji Temple and the Pensacola Chapter of the Retired Officers Association. Lifetime memberships included the Shriners’ Crippled Children’s Hospitals, Non-Commissioned Officers Association, Disabled American Veterans, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. He also proudly belonged to the Silver Eagles, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Retired Officers Association, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels.

He is survived by Rose Virginia Willis, his wife for 66 years, and by his four daughters, Kathryn D. Willis of New York City; Darleen Steimel and her husband Larry, of Pensacola; Teresa Malloy and her husband Dennis of Gulf Breeze; and Jenny Hamilton and her husband Mike, of Spanish Fort.; his four grandchildren Shannon Brand, Josh Hamilton, Ryan Hamilton, Nick Malloy and his great-grandchild Ethan Brand.

Visitation will be held at Perdido Bay Methodist Church 11:30am-12:30 pm, Monday, September 16, with funeral services beginning at 12:30pm. Interment will follow at Barrancas National Cemetery with full military honors. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Perdido Bay Methodist Church.