Willa Lue Wicks

Service for Willa Lue Wicks, of Tyler, Texas, will be held on Monday, November 4, 2024, at 2:00 PM at Utopia Church of Christ, Utopia, Texas with Michael Nelson officiating. Burial will follow at Waresville Cemetery near Utopia, Texas under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. Willa passed away Wednesday, October 30, 2024 at Hospice of East Texas, Tyler, Texas. Willa was born on March 3, 1938 in Utopia, Texas to the parents of Charles Henderson Chaney and Lena Belle Chaney. She graduated from Utopia High School in May, 1956 and then attended secretary school in San Antonio, Texas. Upon graduating she held secretarial positions in San Antonio, Texas and San Marcos, Texas. Willa married James D. Wicks on June 1, 1957 and was married for 61 years. She chose to stay home and be a homemaker while her children were young. Later in life, Willa then worked a long and rewarding 17 year career at Tyler Junior College starting in 1982 as the secretary to the Dean, Department of Science and Mathematics. She retired in 1999 as Administrative Secretary to the VP, Executive of TJC Foundation. She left her career earlier than planned to go care for her ailing parents. Willa was a wife of noble character and a woman worth far more than rubies. She was an exceptional homemaker for her family of five. She could make delicious meals, beautiful clothes, and she provided a safe haven for her family and her husband through the years. Willa taught bible classes and made a lot of her own biblical material. She was raised on a ranch as a child and it is because of that experience that she knew how to take care of the few animals (milk cow, chickens, horses, dogs, cats, rabbits, racoon, etc.) we were able to have on 10 acres along with growing a garden, and she knew how to budget the finances as well. She worked hard and her hands were never still. She taught her children to be kind, respectful and honest, she taught us to give our best at work and in life. Her family was very important to her, and God was always in her life and in her ways. Willa was a member of the Utopia Church of Christ. Willa was preceded in death by her parents Charles Henderson Chaney and Lena Belle Chaney, brothers Charles Chaney and Danny Chaney, and husband James D. Wicks. She is survived by her brother Tom Chaney and wife Charmaine of Devine, Texas; son, David Wicks and his wife Ginny of Tyler; son, Tim Wicks of Bella Vista, Arkansas; and daughter, Debbie VanWinkle and her husband Ted of Heber Springs, Arkansas. She is also survived by seven grandchildren: Joshua, Jonathan, Timothy, Kelsi, James, Lena, and Johnny; and 10 great-grandchildren. Visitation is scheduled from 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Highway, in Tyler, Texas. Memorial donations may be made to Medina Children's Home: 21300 State Highway 16 N, Medina, TX 78055.

Willa Lue Wicks

March 3, 1938 - October 30, 2024