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Oree Dee Willis: a lifetime filled with love of learning, teaching
When Oree Dee was six years old, her parents separated and she was brought back to Wilkes County to grow up in the home of her maternal grandmother, Mary Smith Stribling, along with four other cousins and four aunts and uncles. Her Grandma Mary was a midwife. She delivered hundreds of African American babies in the Tignall, Delhi, Sandtown, Danburg, and Washington communities in the 1930s, 40s and 50s including the writer of this article. Moreover, she provided home health care for scores of white mothers who had just given birth. Oree Dee discovered very early in life that she loved to learn. Even though the few books she and her classmates had at Pole Branch Baptist Church Elementary School were "hand me down" books from the white school in Tignall, she cherished them and absorbed every detail of every text book that was available to her. By the time she was in the second grade, Oree Dee had purposed in her heart that she would be a school teacher. She especially enjoyed attending Pole Branch Church School from first through ninth grade. It was located next to her home church, Pole Branch Baptist Church and was the ancestral church of her father's side of the family.
Success stories about her late greatgrandfather Albert Willis also inspired Oree Dee. He had been born in 1834 in the shadows of Monticello, the Charlottesville, Virginia, home of Thomas Jefferson, who had died in 1826. Albert Willis had been sold away from his mother for $1,000.00 into slavery in 1845, when he was eleven years old to James Henry Willis, a large plantation owner in Delhi, Wilkes County, Georgia, whose family was formerly from the Charlottesville, Virginia area. Even as a young man, Grandpa Albert was a talented wood carver, as was his fellow Charlottesville native, Eston Hemings, son of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. Such was the Willis family's high regard for the wood carving talent of great-grandpa Albert that he was entrusted to delicately carve out the mantle above the fireplace in the James Henry Willis homehouse - a mantle that remains functional and decorative to this very day. In a conversation I had with Mary Sale Stennett, granddaughter of James Henry Willis, in the mid 1970s, she stated (with tears in her eyes) that all the Willis family loved great-grandpa Albert and that he was extremely talented as a wood carver. Now owned by an Atlanta medical doctor, the Willis Plantation homehouse where great-grandpa Albert grew up still stands on Delhi Road. The 1860 and 1880 Federal Census lists great-grandpa Albert's racial classificationas "mulatto" which indicated that he had a white father. In the James Henry Willis household he was first a house servant, then the personal servant of James Henry Willis. He was allowed to learn to read and write. In 1861 when 41-year-old James Henry Willis (who was married with several children) volunteered for military service with the Delhi Rangers Volunteer Company, 15th Georgia Infantry, then 26-year-old, great-grandpa Albert (who was married to Ann Brewer Willis with two children, Harriett and Albert Willis, Jr.) was required to accompany him to fight in the Battle of Bull Run in Virginia. James Henry Willis contracted measles (a potentially deadly disease at the time), and was taken by great-grandpa Albert to the medical facility in, of all places, Charlottesville, Virginia to recuperate. Confederate war records indicate that he continued to serve in that medical facility after his cure, until his discharge in November 1861. It can be assumed that both men interacted with family and friends during their fairly lengthy stay in their home town of Charlottesville. great-grandpa Albert personally escorted him back to Delhi, Wilkes County, Georgia. Perhaps the outcome of the war could be forseen by the two men and perhaps they agreed on a contract for mutual and peaceful existence in Wilkes County. Perhaps their bond included a blood relationship. What is known is that the survivors of the two men have shown respect and friendship toward one another for generations and that James Henry Willis enabled the purchase of some of his property by great-grandpa Albert for farming purposes and for a family and community church for members who, like great-grandpa Albert, chose to withdraw their letters from Beulah Baptist, to establish a church of their own. The church they initially established, Trinity Baptist Church, still conducts worship services today. The above and other stories about greatgrandpa Albert Willis were a source of inspiration for Oree Dee Willis in her youth. Oree Dee's thirst for education continued after grade school. She attended high school at Washington High School where she was encouraged by outstanding teachers like Louise Wood and Essie Bell. It was not until high school that her name became "Oree Dee." Her mom, like several other parents of that era, both black and white, had simply given her initials for a name. The faculty and administration urged her and her family to have the initials which were given to her "R. D." become a name. Her family decided that R. D. would be formally named Oree Dee Willis. Immediately after her 1941 high school graduation, Oree Dee felt compelled to continue preparation for her "calling" to become a teacher. She entered the intense two-year teacher training program of Albany State College in Albany, Georgia. Her family had no money, so entry into college and the job market were synonomous. Fortunately, a job in the school cafeteria became available. It was an answer to prayer. Her sister Florida would send what she could in that she was now working in Greenville, S. C. Realizing her daughter's irrepressible calling to be a teacher, her mother continued to work in Knoxville, Tennessee, and would regularly send money from her meager income. Oree Dee completed the intense teacher training program and returned to her beloved Wilkes County to begin her quest to further educate her family and fellow citizens. She was hired to teach at the Rosenwald School at Black Rock AME Church. After two years, the opportunity to teach at her beloved alma mater, Pole Branch Church School, became available and she eagerly accepted. Oree Dee would go on to teach at Wynn Chapel Church School until the opportunity presented itself to enroll in the newly created four-year teacher training program at Albany State University. With two years already under her belt, she earned her BA degree in education in 1951. Again, she anxiously returned to her beloved Wilkes County, for she was committed to the uplift of her people in her home county. For the ensuing 19 years she passionately taught at New Ford Church School and North Wilkes Elementary School. A believer in lifelong learning, Oree Dee spent summers during these working years enrolled in graduate and staff development courses at Johnson C. Smith University, Florida State University, Penn State University, and The University of Georgia. Moreover, she taught Language Arts at Washington High School during the period from 1970 until 1977. Her hard work, commitment to teaching, and continued academic development enabled her to complete the requirements for the degree, Master of Arts in Elementary Education in 1975 from The University of Georgia. Additionally, she had earned enough credits to be awarded a Certificatein Educational Administration from UGA. In 1977, Oree Dee was asked to come serve at the Board of Education Central Officeas the first African American to administer the Federal Title 1 program. A lifelong classroom teacher, she prayed over the offer and decided that it would indeed be an opportunity to help a greater number of youngsters in the entire CSRA achieve their educational objectives. While the classroom was her first love, she states that she received a great sense of gratificationin helping students and their families on a larger scale. Oree Dee retired from the Wilkes County School System in 1986 after more than four decades of honorable and committed service to the children of Wilkes County and the CSRA. She credits God for granting her the opportunity to live out His calling for her life. Rufus Willis (no relation) married Oree Dee Willis in 1945. She did not have to change her last name. She was blessed to have a husband who understood that teaching was a passion for his wife. He accepted her commitment to be academically qualified and to devote much time to her students. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Willis, but one died during infancy. Their daughter, Deborah Willis Mays and her family live in Riverdale, Georgia. Oree Dee has three granddaughters and will soon be a great-grandmother. Her husband, Rufus went home to be with the Lord in 1987. Oree Dee was and is still quite active in her church, Pole Branch Baptist Church, as well. She accepted Christ as her personal Savior in her youth and has been a tireless and committed Christian throughout her adult life. Over the years, she has served as Church Secretary for 32 years, Vacation Bible School Director for 40 years, Adult Sunday School teacher for 20 years, and member of the Trustee Ministry for 12 years. Oree Dee loves her church and she loves the Lord. Looking back on her life and career, Oree Dee Willis is grateful to God for giving her a very rich and satisfying life filled with family, friends, loved ones, a career doing what she feels she was "called" to do, a church and church family, and the gift of everlasting life.
Her greatest regret is that the "powers that be" took prayer out of the public schools and restricted the use of corporal punishment. Oree Dee cherishes her former colleagues, former students, and all of God's family. She now devotes her time to Pole Branch Baptist Church, her family (she is the Historian for the Willis Family Reunion), and several of her favorite charities. Oree Dee Willis' roots run deep in Wilkes County. Indeed, she is an Unsung Hero of Wilkes County.
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