Willa I. Wilson, 83, of Crawfordsville, died Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at Sunrise Terrace Nursing Home in Winfield.
Funeral services will be held Monday, September 14, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the Beatty Funeral Home in Washington, with Mike Zahs officiating. Burial will follow at the Crawfordsville Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, September 13, at the Funeral Home, with family present from 2 to 4 p.m. Memorials may be directed to the Mount Union T.T.T.
Willa was born August 29, 1943, on a farm near Unionville, Missouri, the daughter of James Forest Trent and Helen Francis Hawkins. She was the youngest of three girls and grew up helping on the family farm, including milking cows by hand. She attended a country school and graduated from Union High School in 1960. Following high school, she worked for Better Homes and Gardens in Des Moines and later for Bendix Aviation in Davenport. In Davenport, she met Terry J. Wilson, and they married on July 11, 1970, in Maquoketa, Iowa.
They made their home near Wayland in 1974, where she worked the farm, and Terry taught in the WACO schools. Willa worked at the McCleery-Cummings Calendar Factory in Washington and later for 14 years in food service at Washington Jr. High School, first as a baker and later as salad bar manager. Willa enjoyed quilting and going to garage sales, was involved with Washington County Barn Quilts, participated in Relay for Life, and donated platelets for many years. She especially enjoyed spending time with her sister and loved to mow the yard. Willa had been a member of T.T.T. since 1990 and treasured the friendships and memories of time spent at Camp Wyoming.
Survivors include her sons, Tom Wilson of Blue Grass, and Monte Valentine of Davenport; sister, Beth Choate of Blue Grass; three grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Terry, her sister, Wanda, and her grandson, Dylan.