Leon Willingham

Leon, the son of the late Aubrey and Jessie Willingham, was born in Oxford, Mississippi, May 18, 1957. He joined Cypress Grove M.B. Church at an early age.

Leon was a 1975 graduate of Lafayette High School and was an outstanding football player. After his graduation, Leon continued his football career and furthered his education at Northwest Community College. In 1977, he graduated and earned an Associates of Applied Science degree in welding.

Leon worked at Weyerhauser in Bruce, MS as a Kiln Technician and retired in 2013. He was a fun-loving, friendly person who enjoyed people. Leon truly, never met a stranger and was always willing to lend a helping hand to anybody who needed it. In 1991, he married Lorine Hilliard and to this union, one daughter, Jessica, was born. Leon loved to watch sports, court tv, and westerns.

On Friday, November 11, 2022, he went home to be with the Lord.

Leon is survived by his wife, Lorine Willingham of Oxford, MS; children, Victoria King of Memphis, TN, Deon Willingham of Nashville, TN, Marcus (Chiquita) Willingham of Jackson, MS, and Jessica Willingham of Oxford, MS; stepdaughter, Marquisha Cancer of Abbeville, MS; five grandchildren; two sisters, Brenda (JR) Jones of Jackson, MS and Barbara (Bernard) Dunn of Taylor, MS; special niece that was like a sister, Dana Booker of District Heights, MD; one sister-in-law, Deloris Willingham of Oxford, MS; two uncles, Ernest (Edith) Mitchell and Alvin Mitchell both of Milwaukee, WI; one aunt, Ethelean Richardson of Rock Island, IL; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Leon is preceded in death by his parents, Aubrey and Jessie Willingham and two siblings, Patricia Willingham and Ricky Willingham.