12/19/1934 – 10/8/2022
Edmund, OK
On Saturday, October 8, 2022, James “Berle” Willis, of Edmund, OK, beloved father, husband, and music teacher, passed away at age 87.
Berle was born on December 19, 1934, in Wellington, Kansas to Ethridge and Fae (Downen) Willis. After serving in the Army during the Korean war, he received his BA from Wichita State University in 1959 and began a teaching career that spanned four decades in the Wichita public school system. Berle had a knack for teaching young people to play musical instruments.
On August 11, 1956, he married Maurine (Schrag) Willis. They raised three children, Becky, Diane, and Scott.
Berle was preceded in death by his wife Maurine, his son Scott, and his parents. His second wife, Darlene (Shore) Martin, also preceded him in death. He is survived by his daughters Becky (Lisa) LaBlanc-Willis, Diane (Bob) Knapic, and grandsons Soren, and Reece Knapic, all of Lawrence, KS.
The funeral will be a private gathering of close family members.
Note: The Lawrence Times is offering Lawrence and Douglas County community members space to publish remembrances of loved ones who lived in this community, free of charge. These pieces are submitted by family and friends of the deceased and not written by our staff. Photos are also provided to the publication, and some may have been altered prior to submission. Read more obituaries here.
We are honored to be able to offer this service free to community members in mourning. We believe the last thing our neighbors need in those difficult moments is another financial matter to worry about. Please support the Times to help us continue providing this service — and news access — for all.
To submit an obituary to The Lawrence Times, please fill out the form at this link. We’re sorry, but we cannot accept obituary submissions via email or other means.
Receive obituaries via email
As of May 2026, we are launching a newsletter that will include obituaries only. Obituaries will no longer appear in our daily emails. You can sign up below to receive any and all of our emails. If you already receive our daily, weekly and/or occasional emails and you want to keep receiving them, please check those boxes as well.
Please make sure you click on the button that says “Yes, subscribe me to this list” in the email you receive or you will not receive future emails. That extra step is to protect you and make sure you’re not getting emails you don’t want.
