Cecil O. Willis, former Philadelphia policeman and detective, dies at 91
Mr. Willis’ connection with his wife, Lithan, remains the talk of the family. She accompanied him to 11 years of dialysis appointments, three days a week, and never missed one.
Cecil O. Willis, 91, of Philadelphia, a former Philadelphia policeman and detective, and a “friend to everyone” in his Mount Airy neighborhood, died Saturday, Jan. 23, of renal disease at Abington Memorial Hospital.
Committed to helping young people avoid criminal behavior as much as to taking them into police custody, Mr. Willis made it a point throughout his long career to intervene as often as possible when he saw trouble brewing. He was skilled, said his daughter, Pamela Bradley, in using negotiation to defuse confrontation and overcome confusion.
“He taught us all how to have conversations,” she said.
Lithan Willis, his wife of nearly 70 years, recalls them being stopped often by men whose lives Mr. Willis touched for the better with his good advice.
A former colleague in the Police Department recalled that Mr. Willis seemed to get along with everyone he encountered. “The good guys, the bad guys, judges, defense attorneys, the public. He just seemed to have a knack for relating to people,” he said.
Born March 21, 1929, Mr. Willis was the eighth of 10 children and grew up in North Philadelphia. He met Lithan Ross when they were young neighbors, and she knew even then that he was the one. She liked how he constantly smiled, and always wore suits.
He graduated from Ben Franklin High School, went to community college in East Mount Airy, and served in the Army during the Korean War. In 1951, the couple married, and they had two children, son Cecil and daughter Pamela.
Mr. Willis’ connection with his wife remains the talk of the family. She accompanied him to 11 years of dialysis appointments, three days a week, never missing one, she said, “even for snow or rain or cold.”
“We were peas in a pod,” she said. “We did for each other. I would take him by the arm, and we would walk to every appointment. Now I feel lost. I have no arm to hold on to.”
Following an older brother, Thomas, Mr. Willis started his 54-year criminal justice career in 1953 as a Philadelphia policeman. For the next 25 years, he worked in the department as an officer, corporal, and detective. He served in the 35th District, North Central Detective Division, Homicide Division, and the Northeast Detective Division.
He retired from the department in 1978, and worked until 2003 as an investigator with the Homicide Division of the Defender Association of Philadelphia.
Mr. Willis was a member of the Woodcrest United Church of Christ. He and his wife traveled extensively — Paris, London, Amsterdam. They belonged to a vacation club, loved cruises, and he reveled in the different cultures they found abroad. Hs wife said his favorite city was Vienna.
He liked to fish and played golf with a passion, and his wife recalls Mr. Willis and his friends, some of whom were local pro football players, taking road trips to favorite courses and then “lying about who won.”
He followed the local pro sports teams, loved to tell jokes, and spun stories on his backyard deck and at the kitchen table for family and friends while his wife cooked and chimed in every now and then.
He liked pinochle, and doted on his grandchildren, Julian and Eryka, showing up at nearly every family event. He took part in Question Bridge: Black Males, a project by great-nephew Hank Willis Thomas and others that features Black men of all ages and backgrounds asking and responding to questions about life in America.
“He understood his role of being a role model and surrogate father and grandfather to family and friends,” the family said in a tribute.
“Once he got to know you, there was no distinction between family, friends, and neighbors,” his daughter said. “Everyone was family to him.”
In addition to his wife, children, and grandchildren, Mr. Willis is survived by other relatives. All nine of his siblings died earlier.
A viewing is planned for Thursday, Feb. 4, from 9 to 11 a.m., with a service at 11 a.m., at Kirk and Nice Suburban Chapel, 333 W. County Line Rd., Huntingdon Valley. To view the service via streaming, go to kirkandnicesuburban.com.
Burial is to be at Rolling Green Memorial Park, 1008 West Chester Pike, West Chester.