SMSgt Retired, Willis Lee Mason Sr., US Air Force, 86, of Dellrose, Tennessee, passed away Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Funeral services were held Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at Higgins Funeral Home with the Rev. Bruce Underhill and Elder Aaron Hasty officiating. Burial followed in Shiloh Cemetery.

Mr. Mason was born Jan. 13, 1936, to the late Scott Walter Mason and Flora Mae Garner Mason. He served four years in the US Navy and then went on to retire from the Air Force after 22 years of additional service. After a few different jobs, Willis went into Civil Service worked in California, and returned to Tennessee in the mid-1980s. He continued his civil service career at Advco in Nashville and then moved to Grumman in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1987. Upon retirement from civilian life in 1995, he settled in Dellrose.

Willis was a longtime member of McBurg First Baptist Church and was recently ordained as Deacon on Jan. 1, 2023. He was also a member of the Fayetteville Lions Club, and served as a fireman with the Dellrose Volunteer Fire Department. He even found time to drive veterans to their doctor appointments. Willis held a special passion for woodworking, and many of his beautiful bowls are proudly displayed in homes and businesses around Lincoln County. He also enjoyed fishing and working on his farm, but most of all he loved serving his community and his family.

Mr. Mason is survived by his wife of 66 years, Geraldine Dee Whitham Mason; son, Willis Lee (Kim) Mason, Jr.; daughters, Sueanna Dee (David) Hasty, Judy Ann (Bruce) Underhill; grandchildren, James Lee Mason, Justin Michael Trowell, Joseph Lawrence (Jennifer) Hasty, Aaron William (Amanda) Hasty, Trevor Lane (Nicci) Hasty, and Willis Victor (Stephanie) Underhill; great-grandchildren, Wyatt and Hannah Trowell, Lillian Marie Mason, Carleigh, Paisleigh, Bayleigh, Trinity, and Oakleigh Hasty, Reaghan, Eli, and Reed Hasty, Teagan and Blakelyn Hasty, Ethan, Zachary, and Micah Underhill; siblings, Glora (Bob) Bolton, Elizabeth Jones, Linda Blue, Larry Dale (Kim) Mason; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Mr. Mason was preceded in death by his sister, Mary Garner; and brothers, Jerry Mason and Donald Mason.

Memorial donations may be made to McBurg First Baptist Church, 353 McBurg Dellrose Road, Dellrose, TN 38453; Camp Blount Historic Site Association, P.O. Box 1422, Fayetteville, TN 37334; The Gideons International Processing Center, P.O. Box 97251, Washington, DC 20090-7251; Fayetteville Lions Club, P.O. Box 217, Fayetteville, TN 37334.

Higgins Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of SMSgt Retired, Willis Lee Mason, Sr., US Air Force