Liliana "Lilly" Willis

With great sadness and much love, the family of Lilly Willis announces her passing on Sunday, November 19, 2023, at age 79, at St. James Place Nursing Care.  She was born on June 3,1944 in Cartago, Costa Rica, and moved to America in 1946.  She graduated from Warren Easton High School in New Orleans.  She has been a resident of Baton Rouge since 1966, when she married Jerry Byron Willis.  Lilly became a proud U.S. citizen in 1975.  She was employed at BR General before becoming a realtor and broker, spending her career with Johnson Properties and DSK Realtors.  She retired in 1997 when Jerry died.  She loved to quilt, garden, dance, golf and travel.

Lilly was a member of the River City Quilt Guild and has made more than 50 quilts for family and friends which brought so much joy to her life.  She was a member of Republican Women of Baton Rouge.  She was active for a number of years at First United Methodist Church volunteering with children’s activities, fundraisers for service projects, XYZ activities as well as staging and decorating for The Boutique.  She made lifetime friends at FUMC in her Woodfin Circle and United Methodist Women, where she served as president.  She was also a volunteer docent at Louisiana Arts & Science Museum and Louisiana’s Old State Capitol. 

She was preceded in death by her husband of 31 years, Jerry; her parents, Eduardo Antonio and Maria Antonieta Piedra; and brother-in-law, Joseph P. Acosta.  She is survived by her two sons, Jerry Byron “Bubba” Willis, Jr. (Renee) and Edward Anthony Willis; grandchildren, Cooper, Beau and Chase Willis; sisters, Marta Keller, Ana McManus, and Mary Acosta; numerous nieces and nephews, and her fiancé, Philip F. Foster. 

Visitation will be at Resthaven Funeral Home, 11817 Jefferson Hwy from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, November 25 with religious service at 11 a.m. in the funeral home chapel conducted by Rev. Chris Andrews.  Interment in Resthaven Gardens of Memory.  In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Cancer Services of Baton Rouge or First United Methodist Church.