Libby Willis, 85, of St. Anthony Park, died April 28.
Elizabeth Frances (Monaghan) Willis (Libby) was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on Oct. 24, 1930, to James and Frances (Boyle) Monaghan. She moved to Boston, Mass., in 1957, when she married Ray Willis, who was in graduate school at the time. They moved to Minnesota in 1959 and to St. Anthony Park in 1964.
She and her husband raised four sons and after they left home she became increasingly interested in gardening. She was one of the original members of the Ramsey County Master Gardeners and was active for more than 30 years. Following this interest she attended a program at 916 Vo-Tech and received a certificate as Horticulture Aide.
She then worked and volunteered in the St. Paul Public Schools, helping with classroom gardening programs. This included St. Anthony Park Elementary and Frost Lake Elementary. She also used to staff the Master Gardeners (MG) information desk at Como Conservatory and the MG phone line.
Her body has been donated to the University of Minnesota Medical School, Anatomy Bequest Program. There will be no immediate memorial service but, on Nov. 9, the university will hold a memorial for all the people whose bodies have been donated.
Libby is survived by her husband, Raymond; four sons, Peter, Brian, Kevin, and Garth; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Terri Pothier of St. Catherine’s, Ontario, and Tela Purcell of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
