Obit Cherokee Co. Archives for:
Zelma Marie Bynum Willis
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Submitted by: Kay Hubbard Thompson
Email: katiewho@intellex.com 
Date: 4/24/2002
to the Cherokee Co., OK Archives site
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/cherokee/cherokee.html
Bill Cook, Cherokee Co. Archivist, wcook14024@aol.com
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TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS
TAHLEQUAH, OK
APRIL 16, 2002

ZELMA MARIE BYNUM WILLIS
     Tahlequah--Funeral services for Zelma Willis of Tahlequah, wife of the late 
Bill Willis, former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, will be 
held at 2 p.m. Thursday, April 18, 2002 at the First Baptist Church of Tahlequah 
with Rev. Ron Rice and Rev. David Young officiating.  Burial will follow in 
Tahlequah City Cemetery under direction of the Hart Funeral Home.
     Serving as pallbearers will be David Bailey Jr., Ken Browder, Paul 
Crosslin, Herb Bynum Willis II, Phil Bynum and Tommy Bynum.
     Zelma Marie Bynum Willis was born July 3, 1919 at Shady Grove, the only 
child of Herb J.  and Dessie (Eller) Bynum, she departed this life on April 14, 
2002, at her home surrounded by her children and grandchildren.  She was 82 
years of age.
     Zelma attended school at Locust Grove and spent much of their life living 
in Tahlequah and Tulsa.  Her father, Herb, operated grocery and general 
merchandise stores in Tahlequah and Locust Grove, where Zelma learned business 
through observing him.
     In 1936, she met and married William Paschal Willis, former Speaker of the 
House of Representatives.  Together, Bill and Zelma operated several grocery, 
hardware and clothing stores in Tahlequah and northeastern Oklahoma.
     Zelma was an astute and generous business woman, often furnishing clothing 
to children at the Methodist Children's Home.  She loved children, and in 1980, 
the State Health Department named one of their buildings in Cherokee County the 
Zelma Willis Child and Family Center.
     When her husband was asked to run for the House of Representatives in 1957, 
she campaigned for him and he was subsequently elected to the House, where he 
remained until his retirement.  At the Capital, Zelma was a frequent and loved 
presence in the House corridors where all the legislators and their secretaries 
knew her.  Zelma was known as a champion dominoes player who was seldom defeated 
by anyone at the Capital.  Those who knew Zelma loved her for her generosity, 
good humor, and her love and devotion to her husband and children.
     Zelma and her husband had seven children.  Dr. Diane J. Willis, professor 
emeritus a the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Norman; Joyce G. 
Willis, a retired teacher; Billie Jean Crosslin, a real estate broker; Herb 
Bynum Willis, deceased; Zelma M. Bailey, retired teacher; and William P. and 
Doak Willis, attorneys; all of Tahlequah.
     She also had 14 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, who loved her 
dearly and whom she loved.
     Zelma's hobbies included gardening her flowers, studying genealogy, 
quilting, embroidery, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.  
She is preceded in death by her husband and one son.
     Zelma lived a rich and full life as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-
grandmother and also as a business woman, fierce domino player and protective 
guardian of her husband and children.
     She quietly championed legislation to protect children and to enhance their 
growth and development, but to those who knew her best know that her family was 
her No. 1 priority.