|
Established 1948   Dr. Frances Cornell Willis, 97, passed away Sunday, November 8, 2015 at her home in Denison. She is a native Denisonian and a graduate of Denison schools. When she was in Peabody Elementary, she was the only student who was in four U.I.L. contests from the 4th through the 7th grades. They were Spelling, Music Memory, Art Memory and Arithmetic. At graduation, she ranked No. 1 in her class and gave a short speech. At DHS, she was in U.I.L. Spelling in the 8th grade and Extemporaneous Speaking in the 11th grade. She was vice-president of the Jr. Class, pianist for the Girls' Glee Club during the junior and senior years, president of Girl Reserves her senior year, secretary for the state Hi-Y Club meeting that met in Denison, was Neewollah queen and received the Girl Reserve Cup for Complete Girlhood at graduation. She ranked 4th in a class of 144 and her after-school job was being pianist for Dorothy Legg's dancing classes. At Southestern State University, she was on the debate team during her sophomore year, elected secretary for the Student Council her junior and senior years, president of Cardinal Key and student director of Southeastern's Banquet Hall in her senior year. She she received her B.S. degree, she was awarded a scholarship for a year's graduate study at Oklahoma University. After the year's graduate study at OU, she started her teaching career at Caddo, Oklahoma in 1940, teaching high school math. Since married women were not allowed to be a regular teacher, Mary Frances Wilson at DHS was getting mattied and B. McDaniel called Frances to come to Denison to teach. As she was making $95 a month for nine months, Denison offered $125 a month for nine months, she had to give the school board two weeks' notice and she started teaching at DHS on February 2, 1942. She taught English that semester and started teaching five classes of geometry in the fall of 1942, as she was a math, home economic major in cllege. Then in November Elizabeth Geer resigned and Frances was assigned five home economic classes. The war ws going on and she was getting married in Pueblo, Colorado in June 1944. before she left for Colorado, B. McDaniel made sure that she took care of refreshments for the alumni meeting, which always followed Saturday night after graduation on Friday night. When her husband, B.A. Willis, was discharged in August 1944, married women could teach, so B. McDaniel said she could have her job back. They left Colorado August 30, 1944, came to Denison and she started teaching when school opened in September. While teaching at DHS she was Girl Reserve Sponsor 12 years and designed the triangle within the lighted circle for the auditorium; Junior Class sponsor for two years where she had charge of decorations, music, refreshments and the male sponsor collected the money; Student Council sponsor two years; FHA sponsor 28 years and Senior Class sponsor 25 years. When she and Charles were head Senior Class sponsors, they planned and had the first Senior Day at Loy Lake in 1970 in stead of going to Lake Murray. Then in 1971, Corky Bowling and Frances planned the first outdoor graduation at Munson Stadium, a tradition still observed today. Mr. Bob Monroe, Director of Maintenance, built the stage and backdrop which is used currently. After teaching 33 years in the classroom, she became Vocational Counselor for three years and then Vocational Administrator for 16 years, making a total of 52 years. Her B.S. degree came from Southeastern University, her M.A. came from Texas State College for Women and her PhD came from Texas Woman's University. In 1991 she was presented the one and only 50 year pin for a Denison educator. In 1955 she served on the state textbook committee, which can be done only once in a lifetime; in 1959 she was elected most representative teacher at DHS; 1962-1969 she served 7 terms on the District S.T.S.T.A. Board and was a representative to the N.E.A. conventions twice; 1967-1969 first vice-president and president of Area V Home Economics Teachers; 1967-1968 vice-president and then president of Denison Education Association; 1971 elected DHS Teacher of the Year; 1974 elected DHS faculty sweetheart; 1976 nominated for Texas Teacher of the Year; 1977-1979 president of A.A.U.W.; 1977-1993 director of Vocational Education Advisory Council; 1978- 1993 Vocational Advisory Council for Grayson County College; 1978-1993 American Vocation Association; 1977-1993 Texas State Vocational Association; 1977-1993 North Texas Vocational Adminstrators, serving as secretary four years; certified appraiser for placement of teachers on Career Ladder; 1979 voted Outstanding Educator by AAUW; 1979 represented the president of TWU at the inauguration of Dr. Harry Smith at Austin College; 1978-1979 program chairman for DEA; at the May breakfast, the largest number of teachers attended as Dr. Smith, Austin College president, was the speaker and the teacher of belly dancing performed; 1982 in the December issue of the Texas School Business Magazine, Dr. Willis was featured as Educator of the month; 1991 Steering Committee for the Tech Prep Consortium; 1988-1993 co-coordinator for the At-Risk Program; 1990-1993 co-coordinator for the GED Program; 1993-1996 Board of Directors for the Grayson County Teachers Credit Union and elected secretary; 1978-1993 Denison Chamber of Commerce, serving on the Newsletter Committee four years; 1976-1990 American Association of University Women, serving two years as president. After she retired in 1993, she was one of the directors for the Denison Education Foundation and served four years; served on the school board for the Episcopal Day School for four years; president of Monodrama Club 1997-1998; president of Thursday Review 2006-2007; secretary of Thursday Review 2005-2006. She had memberships in the Monodrama Club, Thursday Review Club, Chelsea Park Garden Club, Friends of the Library, DHS Alumni Association, Grayson County Retired School Personnel, Waples Memorial Methodist Church, Criterion SS Class, Sherman Community Players, Exercise Class at Sr. Citizens and four bridge clubs, Chamber of Commerce, Area V Home Economics Teachers, District TSTA, AAUW, Phi Delta Kappa, Delta Kappa Gamma, DEA, L.A. Baker's Line Dancers, both Denison and Sherman Community Concert Series. She also traveled extensively, visiting six continents, went on 14 cruises and visited many places of interest in the U.S. She ate dinner with a family in New Zealand, attended a production in Sidney, Australia, amde two trips to South America, spent a week in Rio de Janeiro, bought a coat in Buenos Aires, kissed the Blarney in Ireland and bought a cut glass vase in Nova Scotia. Frances was born Wednesday, February 13, 1918 in Denison, Texas, the daughter of Albert Lee Cornell and Hallie Edna Baucom Cornell. She was married to Benjamin A. Willis, who was born in Denison, but graduated from Achille, Oklahoma High School, where he was valedictorian. He received a B.S. degree from Southeastern University and did graduate work at Oklahoma University. He started his professional career as the principal of Grant, Oklahoma High School, where he stayed 1-1/2 years before starting work at the Denison Post Office. The salary and benefits were better at the post office than in the teaching profession. After serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to the post office and became assistant Postmaster in 1948. Her served in that position until 1972 when he was named Postmaster. He retired from that position in 1984. They had one son, Benjamin Lee Willis, who was born in 1954. He graduated valedictorian of DHS class of 1972, received a BA degree from Austin College and a MD degree from Southwestern Medical School. Frances is survived by son Benjamin Lee Willis of Cedar Hill, Texas. She is preceded in death by her parents and husband. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., November 14, 2015 at Waples Memorial United Methodist Church in Denison, Texas with Rev. Cheryl Murphy officiating. Visitation will be one hour before the service. Burial will follow at Cedarlawn Memorial Park in Sherman, Texas. Kenneth Donze will serve as a pallbearer. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Home Hospice of Grayson County, 505 W. Center, Sherman, TX 75090. Biography Index Cedarlawn Cemetery Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |