Gary Randall Willis passed from this life on Friday, December 8, 2023 at the age of 72. Born on November 5, 1951 to Imogene and Robert Willis in Dallas, Texas, he grew up there graduating from Kimball High School and then attended Abilene Christian College where he met his first wife, Carol Joyce Sides. The two of them raised two sons, Preston and Alan, mostly in Midland, Texas, where they settled in 1982.

Some time later, Gary and Carol went their separate ways in 2002. A few years after that he met and fell in love with the woman who would become his second wife, Mary Nell Baird, and found a place in an additional family who welcomed and loved him in return. Although he and Mary Nell also decided to end their marriage, they remained close friends until his end.

On the professional side of his life Gary would most proudly claim the role of Educator as he started and ended his working years teaching in the public school systems of Dallas right out of college and in Midland before retirement. While his children were growing up, however, he obtained an M. B. A. degree and license as a Certified Public Accountant in order to provide for his family with one paycheck. While living in Dallas for a couple of years and then after the move to Midland he worked for KPMG (formerly Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co.) and then for Eddins-Walcher until the boys were out of high school and he felt the call of the classroom again. For this phase of his teaching vocation, he chose to lean hard into his life-long love of British history and literature and obtained and Masters of Art in English Literature and then taught at the high school and even university level as an instructor for freshman level classes at Abilene Christian University for a few years. He retired from teaching in or around 2017.

These dry facts can't possibly tell the story of a life. Not mentioned above were his ceaseless efforts to inspire a love for learning in his children (for English literature if he could manage it, but he was happy to encourage all of our interests). Starting before we could even talk he (and Carol, too!) would read to us, always increasing the level of complexity of the stories over the years. By early elementary grades he would read "The Chronicles of Narnia" and "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" with full voice acting (even the Elvish poetry!) worthy of any professional one might hear in books at Audible.com. Everyone in the family is still an unapologetic book worm.

His former students from Midland will remember that for the first day of school every year he would dress in full Scottish highland formal wear: kilt and jacket, shiny shoes, knee-high socks, and sporran (but no Sgian-dubh, seeing as how knives are not allowed in schools). Those students may not be able to repeat everything they learned in his classes years ago but they will never be able to doubt his passion for teaching it.

While slaving away with numbers and ledgers at the office during his years as an accountant, he still found time to serve as a Pack Master for the Cub Scouts while we participated and also was elected for a term as a Trustee for MISD.

As a member of Golf Course Road Church of Christ, Gary served on the Missions committee and worked closely with the team working in Campo Grande, Brazil.

With more than half his life lived in Midland, Texas, Gary developed connections and close friendships too numerous to count. Each one made a difference in Gary's life as he did in return.

Gary is survived by his children, Preston and Alan Willis; his sister Lee Ann Collins and family (Skip Collins and children, Payden Collins and Casey Collins); Carol (Willis) Staggs; and Mary Nell Baird. He was preceded in death by his parents, Imogene and Robert Willis.

We're all going to miss you, Dad. We thought we'd have more time.