Gracia Claudette Willis, 87, passed away on March 1st, 2025, at Park View Rehabilitation Center in Sac City, IA. She was born Gracia Claudette Stock on August 31, 1937, to Laurence Paul Stock and Ruth Helen Stock (nee Corbin) at her parents’ farmstead between Lytton and Rockwell City. As a youth she was an active member of 4-H and represented Iowa at a two-week long international 4-H camp in Michigan, as well as the national 4-H council in Chicago in 1954. Gracia won an award at the state fair for her versatile “cheaper by the dozen” recipe adaptable for a variety of breads and rolls.
She graduated from Lytton High School in 1955 and went on to attend Iowa State University to study Home Economics Education. Her academic performance and community service were recognized by her induction into the Mortar Board honor society at Iowa State in 1958. She was active on several committees during college and met the love of her life James (Jim) Willis when she was chairing the entertainment committee and he volunteered to help organize the Sweetheart Ball. Jim wooed Gracia with poetry (such as “Ode to a Gracian Yearn”) as well as his thoughtfulness, once sending her a small box of soil from her home farm when she was studying for a summer in Colorado and missed the good black earth of Iowa. They both graduated from Iowa State in 1959 and were married later that year. She and Jim celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in August 2024.
As newlyweds, they moved to Madison, Wisconsin where Jim pursued his doctoral degree in Physiological Chemistry and Gracia worked at the National Honey Institute and taught at Monona Grove High School. After Jim completed his degree, they moved to San Antonio Texas where Jim completed his deferred full-time service in the Air Force. They bought a home on Radiance Avenue and welcomed their first child Tomas (Tom) in 1964. They later moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Laura was born in 1967, and in 1969 they settled in Shorewood Wisconsin. She and Jim were members at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and helped to establish the Next Door Foundation in Milwaukee. As the children grew, Gracia started working part time as a substitute teacher and began teaching Home Economics full time at Shorewood Intermediate School in 1977. She later took on additional responsibilities at Shorewood High School, teaching more advanced material such as tailoring.
In October 1995, Jim and Gracia moved back to the farm where Gracia was born. In retirement, Gracia remained active in local organizations including the Lytton Museum Board, Emanuel-St. John Lutheran Church, P.E.O., Red Hat Ladies, and many others. Gracia and Jim were avid travelers throughout their life together and visited many interesting countries through the Road Scholar program. Gracia treasured memories of the special trips she and Jim took with their grandchildren, visiting France with Jack, Venice with Jo, and Costa Rica with Ike and Misha.
Gracia was known for her love of gardening and stewardship of God’s creation. She painted a large canvas “Earth Day” in celebration of the first observance of that holiday in 1970. Her passion for art and creativity was evident to everyone who knew her. She was a prolific painter, using a vibrant palette of acrylic or watercolor pigments to create evocative still life paintings, often focused on flowers or vegetables from her garden or beautiful seashells from her collection. Her gardens in Shorewood and at the farm (nicknamed “Willis Gardens”) were works of art as well, carefully designed and executed to show the seasonal colors of flowers and luscious greens of vegetation.
Her love of nature and sense of stewardship were evident throughout her life. After moving back to Iowa, she volunteered for eighteen years with the Calhoun County Soil and Water Conservation District, serving as an assistant commissioner. She received the Ruth Wagner Award in 2015 in recognition of her soil and water conservation efforts.
Gracia is survived by her husband, James Willis; her children Tomas (Susan) Nelson Willis and Laura (Jeff) Simdon; four grandchildren; her brother-in-law Charles (Leslie) Willis of Arlington, TX; her sister-in-law Kathy (Ron) Martin of Knoxville, IA; seven nieces and nephews; her Stock cousins: Rachel (Don) Christensen, Dean (Nancy) Stock, Mitchell Stock (Dee Parrott); her Corbin cousins: Jim, Sue, and Paul; plus other dear friends and relatives. She will be deeply missed.
The family would like to express their gratitude to their neighbors, the staff at Park View, Loring Hospital, Emanuel-St. John Church, and Care Initiatives Hospice. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Emanuel-St. John Endowment Scholarship Fund or the charity of your choice.
