She was born September 7th, 1927, in Dowagiac, Michigan, to the late Henry Harrison and Zola Beulah (Salter) Jordan.
Willa was baptized as a Christian on October 19, 1941. She lived in Dowagiac, completing her high school education, then starting nursing training at Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. Willa met her future husband, Donald J. Huffman (deceased), in Chicago, then the couple relocated to Dixon, Illinois, and she lived there in Dixon for the next 72 years. Willa was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Dixon, Illinois. She moved to Cookeville, Tennessee, in 2019 to be close to her youngest son and eventually joined Heavenly Host Lutheran Church in Cookeville, Tennessee. Willa was the youngest in her family, and all of her six brothers and sisters are deceased, but many nieces and nephews are still alive.
Willa had three sons, David J. Huffman (deceased), Donald Duane Huffman (Edith) of West Columbia, Texas, and Paul L. Huffman (Melinda) of Monterey, Tennessee. She had nine grandchildren, eighteen great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.
She worked as a bookkeeper for Huffman Auto Parts Company, Trust Department Secretary at City National Bank, and Lee County, Illinois Clerk’s office before retiring.
Willa was a Lifetime Member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) in the Lee County chapter and the Old Walton Road Chapter in Putnam County, Tennessee. She served in several officer positions, attended meetings, and wrote articles. Her family’s revolutionary history dates back to an ancestor who supplied George Washington’s army at Valley Forge.
Funeral Service for Willa Huffman will be held Friday, August 21, 2026, at 2:00 pm at the Heavenly Host Lutheran Church, 777 South Willow Avenue, Cookeville, Tennessee, 38501. Interment will be held Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 10:00 am at Chapel Hill Cemetery, 1121 N Galena Avenue, Dixon, Illinois, 61021. Pastor David Andermann will be officiating.
Memorial Donations can be directed to the Heavenly Host Lutheran Church Endowment Fund under Willa’s name.
