grave import

Obituary

Florence A. Willson, 96, formerly of Burlington for 30 years, died Friday, August 17, 2007, at home in Wilsonville, Oregon. Born June 22, 1911, in Boone, Iowa, she was the daughter of John and Anna Paulson White. She was 12 when her family moved to Ames, where she graduated from high school. Afterward she went to work at Iowa State University, as a telephone operator, where she met Fred D. Willson. On February 19, 1937, they married in New York City. He died March 6, 1986. In addition to raising three sons, Mrs. Willson worked as a clerk in a drug store and later as a church secretary and bookkeeper for a congregation office and school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She and her husband moved to his hometown of Burlington after retiring, where she lived until May 2002. She served on the Board of the Burlington AARP Chapter, and she was a member and past officer of the Rhoda Circle of Faith Presbyterian Church. Survivors include three sons, John Willson and James Willson of Wilsonville, Oregon, and Fred "Bill" Willson of Colorado Springs, Colorado; seven grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. Besides her husband, she was preceded in death by her sister, Annabelle Gade of Ames. At Mrs. Willson's request, no services are planned. Private interment is at Aspen Grove Cemetery. Prugh Funeral Service is handling arrangements. A memorial has been established for Easter Seals of Iowa.