C. Dale Willis Sr.

C. Dale Willis

, Sr.

In the evening hours of July 14

,

2021,

C.

Dale

Willis

,

Sr.

,

89,

left this earthly life to

be with family and friends on the other side of the veil.  Born on December 9, 1931 to Chandler pioneers Charles

H.

Willis and Fern Russell Willis, he was the second child o

f

eight

and grew up on the family ranch

working hard to

help

his dad

grow cotton,

corn and

alfalfa

.  As a you

th, he help

ed

drive sheep

on

foot

/horse

back

from Chandler to the Wh

ite Mountains

as

part

of the

sheep business

a

s w

ell as

spen

ding

countless hours o

n

the

Caterpillar

plowing

the

fields

and working the cattle in the feed yard

on Willis Ranch.

In high

-school Dale was class President each year a

nd was

elected Student Body President as a senior

.  He loved athletics and played on the first

Chandler High

School

State

Championship

f

ootball team

and

then

earned a track scholarship

to the Universty of Arizona

.  When the

University

football team lost a player to injury

,

the coach approached

Dale

while he ws practicing the hurdles

on the track and asked him

to play on the football team.

D

ale

agreed and loved it!

He also rodeoed while at the

U of A

,

m

u

ch to the chagrin of the football coach

.  All that bull-dogging and

r

oping

caught up to him later

i

n life

but his love of rodeo never died.

Dale served

The C

hurch

of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints

,

first as a missionary in North

Carolina on the Cherokee reservation

and

later

as a Bishop

of both a family and

young

single

adult

ward

. H

is favorite service

to the Savior

was

spent as an

ordi

n

ance worker for

both

the Mesa and Gilbert Temples.

He

also served

h

is community as

a member of the SRP

C

ouncil

for 21 years

.

Dale married Ila Jane Moss in

July

19

57

in

the

Mesa

Temple

.  T

hey r

aised

three

wonderful

childen

while livng

in Chandler

; Dale Jr

.

, Allen and

J

anie

.

After he was widowed

,

Dale married Tammie Alldredge in

March

2002

.

Dale is survived by his

wife

,

Tammie,

children

C

.

Dale, Jr.

(Shellie)

, Allen

(Kathryn)

and Jane Ann

e

Peppler (Phil)

and

step

-da

u

ghters Holly

Russell

(Jon

athan

) and Meredith

Kabi

(Neil).

Dale also leaves behind

grandchildren Jon

Willis

(Angela)

, Kacey Hammar (Tim), Ryan

Willis

(Dallyn)

, Kaitlyn

Winward

(

Colton)

, Garrett

Willis

, Scot

t

Willis

, McKenzie

Willis

, Annie Brooks (Logan)

, Charlie

Peppler

, Ian Russe

l

l, Campbell Russell, Ainsley Russell, Alex Kabi and Lulu Kabi

.

Additionally,

Dale has

fifteen great-gran

d

child

r

en

who

brought him

great

joy.

Dale is also survived by

his sibl

ings Reed Willis (Janice),

Golda Norton (Brooks), Kenny Willis, Carol Gale (Howard)

and Dwight Willis (Yodit).

His brother

Jay and sister

Lenell

predec

e

ase him.

Dale will be remembered

in a Celebration of His Life

on

Saturday, July 24

at 11:00am

in

the Chandler East Stake Building

,

21320

South Greenfield Road

, Gilbert, Arizona

85298

.  A viewng will

preceed the funeral at 10:00am.  Additionally,

there will a be a viewing at Bueler’s Mortuary on Friday, July 23

rd

between 6-8pm.