Elisha Willis

Mr. Elisha James (Nump) Willis, Jr., age 85, passed away Wednesday, June 29, 2016, at Memorial Manor in Bainbridge, Georgia. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, July 2, 2016, at Climax Baptist Church in Climax, Georgia. The Rev. Steve Poppell will officiate. A private family interment will follow in Cedar Grove Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Friday, July 1, 2016, at the Cadwell Chapel of Cox Funeral Home, 6:00-8:00 p.m. Mr. Elisha James (Nump) Willis, Jr. was born August 17, 1930. The Willis family is one of the notable families in the history of Bainbridge, Georgia. Nump, like his family before him, loved his community. He married the love of his life, Rogelyn Arlo (Kitty) Willis. They were married 54 years before her death, January 26, 2015. Nump and Kitty raised their family in the same house his parents, Elisha James Willis and Sarah Elizabeth Richards Willis, raised he and his siblings. Mr. Willis proudly served in the United States Navy. He worked as a sonar man on the USS Caiman 323. Nump retired as terminal manager for McKenzie Tank Lines and, then, from Dollar Farm Products. He was a member of Climax Baptist Church. E. J. Willis, Jr. loved football, especially F.S.U. He could pull you in with his storytelling. Nump truly enjoyed his children and grandchildren. He will be sorely missed by the many friends and family he loved so very much. Elisha James Willis, Jr. is survived by his children, James A. Willis and wife, Monica of New York City, N.Y. and Nashville, Tennessee, Sarah Willis of Bainbridge, Teresa Holton and husband, John Byron of Clermont, Florida, and Daryl Willis and wife, Jennifer of Bainbridge; brother, Ellison Richards Willis; grandchildren, Carson and Annabel Willis, Molly and John Holton, Jr., Ralyn, Elizabeth, Sarah Grace, and Colton Willis of Bainbridge. He was preceded in death by his parents, Elisha James Willis, Jr. and Sarah Elizabeth Richards Willis, wife, Rogelyn Arlo (Kitty) Long Willis, and sister, Margaret Dent Willis.