Willis Irvin Burleigh (91) passed away May 12th, 2014 at the Golden Age Manor in Amery WI. He was born April 3, 1923 in Duluth, MN to parents George Henry and Clara Elizabeth (Kimball) Burleigh. He and Anna Mae Moore of Duluth were married July 4th 1943 at Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. He served in WWII from early 1943 to late 1945. Willis and Anna had 3 children: George, Judy and Willis Jr. On Sept. 15, 1972, Willis married Laurel (Wilhelm) Wendt at Shell Lake, WI. They had one daughter, Julie. Willis had two step-sons, Duane and Danny Wendt, children of Laurel's from a previous marriage.

Willis is survived by 2 sons George (Sandy) of Eau Claire, WI and Willis Jr. (Rosemary) of Cannon Falls, MN, a daughter Julie Burleigh (Kent Kuenzel) of Andover, MN, step-sons Duane (Deana) Wendt and Danny Wendt, and Willis' sister Ruth Froman of Maryville, Illinois. He leaves 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and numerous other family members and friends.

Preceding Willis in death were his parents George and Clara, his daughter Judy, his wife Laurel (Feb. 2014), his six older brothers Henry, Arthur, Alvin, Darryl, George H. Jr., and Marvin, and a step-grandchild, Michael Wendt.

Willis and his family farmed west of Range upon moving to WI, then ran a grocery store/Mobil Station on Hwy. 8, north of Amery. Later, he was an X-ray technician at several hospitals starting at Amery, WI, then moved to Spooner, working at the Shell Lake Hospital, next at Watertown, S.D. and finally Mora MN. At times he served as head director of their x-ray departments. Upon retirement, they moved back to Amery. He and Laurel enjoyed winters at Harlingen, TX for many years. Willis loved working cross word puzzles, going camping, playing guitar and singing at church. He enjoyed making people laugh. He will be missed.

Memorial services will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at Golden Age Manor in Amery. There will be a visitation time for the hour prior to the service. Burial will be at the Northern Wisconsin Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Spooner, Wisconsin.