Ira Willis

Inducted in 2011

Mar 1

Snowflake - Navajo County

Inducted in 2011

Ira L. Willis, a father who has earned accolades from his family, is a shining example of dedication. A letter signed by all five of his children reads, "My father is truly a man of integrity, fairness, and kindness. A father and grandfather who continued to teach us about the essential things in life. We are all grateful for his example, his love for us, and the blessings we enjoy because of our heritage."

A third-generation northern Arizona rancher, Ira was born on November 30, 1927, in a brick house in Snowflake that dates to 1890. His father, Vern, was also a Snowflake native, and his mother, Pearl, was born a few miles away in Pine. Vern's grandparents lived in Illinois, and Pearl's were in England and Switzerland when they joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After living in Utah for a dozen or so years, they were asked by Brigham Young to help settle Arizona and arrived in 1878.

Vern's grandfather and uncles homesteaded land in the Snowflake area, but hard economic times forced Ira's parents to seek a living elsewhere. Before returning to Snowflake, Vern freighted for the mines around Jerome and logged near Riordan, Flagstaff, Arizona, and Ford Lake, Texas. He purchased the homestead in Snowflake when his uncles moved to the Mesa-Chandler area in 1924. The purchase included the old brick house where Ira was born three years later, the fourth of five children. Over the next few years, Vern acquired two ranches, T Bar and Concho Flat, where Ira moved when he was 19. He lived there until his death on July 23, 2011.

Vern was a horseman and raised his workhorses. He didn't like tractors, so the first one they got came with the farm. "The owner then had a little old tiny Farmall A; I think it was. We couldn't pull our hats off hardly," Ira laughs. Vern, Ira, and Ira's son-in-law Phil continued to "mud the ditches" after irrigation with Vern's last workhorse, Bess, until the mid-1970s.

Ira graduated from Snowflake High School in 1948 and married Sewanee Jackson in 1948. They were blessed with six children and were married 41 years before she passed away. Their youngest son, Reaves, is also deceased.

Ira and their son Lamar grew the operation, and the girls, Roma Lee, Lea, Melanie, and Jackie, helped as much as possible when they could escape their day jobs. As in the old days, it took a large family to keep a farm and ranch going, and this is just the way it is today. You can find a grandkid, great-grandkid, or in-law working somewhere just about any day of the week. Ira was so proud of his family. He loved hearing about their experiences and encouraged them as they participated in school activities, served in their communities, and moved forward. Ira has been heard to quip that he raises cattle and kids and is very proud of both. He married Rita Fletcher in 1990, and her family became his family, too; he had 27 grandchildren and 37 great-grandchildren.

In 1987, Ira and his father transitioned from Herefords to Brangus cattle to increase their meat production. The switch took several years, but today, Black Angus cattle populate their rangeland; each year, they keep fifty of the best heifers for replacements. Another forty are sold to ranches in Arizona and surrounding states. The rest are shipped to Bovina Feeders in Texas, where they are finished for the market. In recent years, Tra and his son Lamar, who has taken over operation management, have kept 20 to 30 bull calves for breeding stock.

In her nominating letter, Roma Lee (Willis) Hiatt said, "Many area farmers and ranchers have benefited from Dad's wisdom and mentoring skills learned over the years by studying and observing changes in the farming and livestock industry then incorporating new practices and applying new techniques that fit the operation." His collaboration with the University of Arizona, Navajo County Extension agents, and other resources have assisted him in his quest to improve his crops and provide good stewardship for his land and animals. He has given his time and wisdom to community and industry organizations such as the Navajo County Farm Bureau, Navajo County Cattle Growers, and, before that, the Northern Arizona Cattle Growers. He has also invested time and energy in promoting conservation and using our limited water resources as a Silver Creek Irrigation Board member.

Lamar and his family have added a new dimension to the family business: a pumpkin patch and corn maze, which Jackie wrote are "designed to increase educational awareness of agriculture for students in Navajo and Apache counties." Besides that, they are just plain fun for all involved. There are two mazes. The larger one becomes haunted at Halloween. Members of the family and a few friends operate them over five weeks surrounding Snowflake's Fall Festival. The Willis Ranch includes a 36,000 ranch east of Snowflake and Taylor and a farm in the Silver Creek Valley. Willis' son, Lamar, and a couple of his sons now run the operation. Ira was an integral part of the business and continued to stay on top of the latest changes in the industry. Ira still ran the loader in the silos when the crops were harvested in the fall and was helping the heifers deliver their first calves in the spring even though he was 83 and his health was failing. Once a rancher, always a rancher.