Ms. Joanne Oberkirch Willis' Obituary
Joanne Oberkirch Willis died at age 88 on October 25 , 2009. She is the daughter of Frederick Oberkirch of New York City and Louise Oberkirch of St. Petersburg, FL. She was predeceased by her husband Charles F. Willis. Mrs. Willis was born in New York City, grew up in Merrick, Long Island, graduated from Merrick High School, Sweet Briar College, and raised her family in Port Washington, Long Island. In the late 1950s she was an elected trustee for the village of Manorhaven. She was a music librarian at NBC Studios in New York City. Mrs. Willis moved to Ft. Lauderdale in 1971 and to St. Petersburg in 1987. She believed in volunteering. Over the years she volunteered for the PTA, Girl Scouts, Audobon, various environmental organizations, church, and in St. Petersburg for the Palladium, the Florida International Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, and her residence, Presbyterian Towers. She was a unity student and attended Unity Christ Church. She is survived by her two daughters Karen Barmmer and Marlena Willis, her five grandchildren, Chris, Kevin, Jim, Lindsay, and Ryan, and her four great grandsons Fred Willis, Benjamin Sedgwick, Damien Jude, and Gus Church. Donations may be made in her name to the Florida Symphony Orchestra
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