Joan Willis celebrates 100th birthday
Centenarian Joan Malcomson Willis was honored for her 100th birthday with a celebration with family and friends on Saturday, Feb. 18, at Morning Pointe.
She was born Feb. 6, 1923, in MacKay, Queensland, Australia, the only daughter of the five children of John and Isabella Rae Malcomson. Growing up in MacKay, she trained as a stenographer, working for the local government and the local Red Cross.
During World War II, she met Harold (Hal) Richard Willis, a U.S. Air Force weatherman stationed in Australia. They were married July 22, 1944. Hal had to return to the United States, and Joan arrived in San Francisco after the war ended. They were stationed near Dallas, Texas, when their first son, John Richard, was born in 1947. A second son, Timothy Ray, was born in 1950 in Albany. Their daughter, Bridget Beth, was born in 1955 at Fort McPherson in Atlanta. Then Leslie Diane was born in 1964 in Marietta. Joan became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1953.
With her husband Hal’s temporary duty stations, the family moved frequently. While he was on temporary duty in Japan, Joan and the boys lived in Ohio, with Hal’s mother. There the family attended a Seventh-day Adventist Church. The church’s Dorcas Society (now called Community Services) had helped Joan’s mother-in-law during a stressful time prior to Joan and the boys’ arrival. This impressed Joan, and she decided to join the Adventist church, developing a belief in Jesus and the Second Coming. Her lifelong desire was to care for her family and to be of service to those in need.
In 1958, Hal was transferred to Okinawa. Joan and the children waited in California, for eight months for transportation. Their ship sailed from Seattle, Washington, so Joan drove from the southern tip of California to the northern tip of Washington, depending on 11-year-old John to help take care of his siblings and navigate the route. During their time in Okinawa, Joan served the Adventist Mission church in Shuri as the Dorcas leader and as president of the Naha Chapel Guild at Naha Air Force Base. She became a liaison with the Okinawans, aiding the local population.
After the family returned to Marietta, they attended the Marietta Adventist Church. Joan taught the Primary Division (children ages 8 to 12 for a total of 25 years in Marietta and later in Calhoun. She also helped with the Adventists’ Pathfinder Club and Community Services.
After Hal retired from the Air Force, they moved to Calhoun, and Joan and the family attended the Adventist church located on South Wall Street. Over the years, Joan served the church in various ways—Primary Division leader, Sabbath School secretary, Community Services leader, and church secretary. She was an integral part of the changes and expansion of the present Calhoun Seventh-day Adventist Church, now located on Highway 53.
In the 1990s, the church joined the Atlanta Food Bank, and Joan became director of a local food bank (now called God’s Pantry). After her church joined the Gordon County Interagency Council, Joan became its representative. In addition, she served 20 years as church clerk and over five years as church secretary. She retired from church duties at age 71 but continued in community service work for several more years. Joan’s husband Hal passed away in 2005 at age 88.
Joan Willis has lived in Calhoun for over 50 years—first on Cash Road and then in the Reeves Station area. She now lives at Morning Pointe, an assisted living facility in Calhoun. In addition to her four children, Joan has five grandchildren, nine great grandchildren and one step-great granddaughter.
During her lifetime, Joan made three trips back to Australia to visit family. She always had stories to tell about growing up in Australia.