Willie C. Washington

Willie C. Washington, Age 96, of Romulus, MI passed away January 24, 2019.

Willie was born on October 25, 1922  in Tallassee, Alabama to Willie Washington and Lucille Gauntt Washington.  Willie lost his mother at the tender age of 5 and his father at 12, after which time he and his siblings would be raised by his Grandmother, Melinda Mckenzie Gauntt.  He joined the army at the age of 17 in order to support his Grandmother,  however, she would pass away within weeks of his enlisting. While in the Army and stationed in Europe, Willie first lay eyes on Theresa.  He would tell his fellow soldiers, “That’s the girl I’m going to marry.’  To that union was born two daughters, Karola (Carol) and Alga.

Willie was trained as a heavy equipment operator while in the Army and would later make quite a name for himself in the demolition business working for Charlie Rodgers Construction and Sarko Construction, just to name a couple.  Those were not easy times as some refused to work with him.  One of his bosses held a meeting and introduced Willie as their new employee and told the other employees if anyone had a problem they could leave now.  Another time he would assault a fellow employee, and his boss would announce, “if Willie Washington kicked you, you must have deserved it.”   After a bit of a struggle, he became a member of the Operating Engineers Union.

Willie and Theresa would carve out a wonderful life for themselves with a firm belief and commitment to hard work and helping others.  One of his favorite past-times was farming, he loved his 20-acre garden.  I once asked, “why are you growing eggplant, we don’t eat eggplant”, daddy replied “I want everything in my garden!”  Friends would come from all around and pick vegetables.  The only thing that made it even more enjoyable for him was when his grandsons came along and he was able to spend time with them in his garden.

Willie lived a long and productive life and he will be greatly missed and never forgotten.  He leaves to cherish his memory his loving daughter, Alga; grandsons Curtis (Ashley) and Erik, “Izo’ George Lyons; great grandchildren, Ashton, Aiden, and Avery,;and a host of relatives including cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. Willie was preceded in death by his loving wife, Theresa; daughter Karola (Carol); brothers Lomis and Robert Charles; and three sisters, Carrie Moses, Alga Marshall –Evans, and Myrtel Ruth Washington.