Minard Willson

A funeral service for Minard Willson of Mountain Home, Arkansas, will be at 2:00 pm Tuesday, April 7, 2015, at Kirby and Family Funeral Home Chapel, with Rev. Ken Taglauer officiating. Visitation will be from 1:00 pm until time of service. Millitary Honors will be provided by the Ozark V.F.W. Post #3246 Honor Guard and the U.S. Marines.

Minard Willson, age 95, passed from this life Saturday, April 4, 2015, at Hospice of the Ozarks Hospice House. He was born May 25, 1919, in Blue Island, Illinois, the son of Thomas A. and Gertrude Lilllian (Minard) Willson. During World War II, he served valiantly in assault teams on Guadalcanal, Tarawa and Saipan. He married his high school sweetheart, Dolores Hambel on January 4, 1946, after he was discharged from the Marine Corps. Minard was a ticket office manager for Continental Airlines in Los Angeles, CA for several years. Later, he worked for Data Products in Los Angeles and retired in 1984.

Minard lived in Mountain Home since 1989, moving from Simi Valley, CA. He volunteered for both Baxter Regional Medical Center and Hospice of the Ozarks Hospice House. He was a Methodist, and belonged to the Elks, American Legion and V.F.W. Minard loved animals, especially dogs, and liked to travel.

Minard was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas A. and Gertrude Willson; his step-mother, Ruth Willson; his wife, Dolores Willson; and his brother, Thomas J. Willson. He is survived by his nephews Thomas (Jean) Willson and Melvin (Judy) Hambel; and his best friend, Sally Moore.

Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Ozarks Hospice House, First United Methodist Church, or the Humane Society of North Central Arkansas.

Arrangements are by Kirby and Family Funeral and Cremation Services.