GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1989 SESSION
RATIFIED BILL

RESOLUTION 12
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 1113

A JOINT RESOLUTION HONORING THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF HUBERT WILLIS.

Whereas, Hubert Willis was born on a farm in Bladen County on May 17, 1908; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis was the son of Forney and Carolina Rebecca Parker Willis; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis is a descendent of James Gillespie, who was a Revolutionary War Hero and member of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth Congress of the United States, and who laid out the city of Fayetteville; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis attended a one-room, one-teacher school for seven years and was graduated from Bladenboro High School, where he was Valedictorian in 1926; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis attended North Carolina State College from 1926 to 1928; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis farmed in Bladen County from 1926 until 1934; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis trained with the Soil Erosion Service, the forerunner of the Soil Conservation Service from 1934 to 1935; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis reentered North Carolina State College in 1939 and graduated in 1942 with a B.S. degree in Field Crops and Plant Breeding; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis was elected president of the Y.M.C.A. in 1940 and to Alpha Zeta, a national honor agriculture fraternity, as well as to the Blue Key and the Golden Chain, local leadership fraternities; and
Whereas, in 1942, Hubert Willis became a soil conservationist in Shelby with the Soil Conservation Service; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis served as a work unit conservationist in Yadkinville, from 1943 to 1945; in Elkin, from 1945 to 1955; and in Cumberland County with the Cumberland Soil and Water Conservation District from 1955 to 1968; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis devoted his life to soil and water conservation, as is shown by his activities, including his election as Soil Conservation District Supervisor in Cumberland County in 1972; his three-time service as counselor for the annual workshop of the North Carolina Association of Soil Conservation Districts; as counselor for the Boy Scouts Conservation Merit Badge; his service to local Future Farmers of America classes; his teaching conservation and weed identification at summer camp; his role in organizing the Flea Hill Watershed Project in Cumberland County; and his conservation news articles; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis served as president of the State chapter of the Soil Conservation Service of America; and
Whereas, during his life time, Hubert Willis received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Certificate of Merit from the United States Department of Agriculture, in 1963, 1965, and 1967; a  Certification of Appreciation from the Agriculture Stabilization and Conservation Service in 1967; the Outstanding Service Award from the Soil Conservation Society of America in 1982; the Distinguished Service Award for Outstanding Conservation Work from Cumberland County; the outstanding Leadership and Support of Agriculture Award in Cumberland County, presented by the Fayetteville Area Chamber of Commerce in 1987; and an award from the Young Democrats in 1984; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis was an active member of his community by his memberships in the Fayetteville Kiwanis Club, the Gideons, the Cape Fear Chapter of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees; the Board of Lay activities of the North Carolina Conference Methodist Church; and the Haymouth Methodist Church; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis married Eutha Neighbors of Forest City in 1943; and
Whereas, Hubert Willis leaves to mourn his wife; his daughter, Rebecca Spade; and one granddaughter, Elizabeth Rebecca Spade;

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

Section 1.  The General Assembly honors the life and memory of Hubert Willis for his work in soil and water conservation and expresses its sympathy to his family and friends and particularly to the citizens of the City of Fayetteville.
Sec. 2.  The Secretary of State shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the family of Hubert Willis.
Sec. 3.  This resolution is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 17th day of April, 1989.

	 
	James C. Gardner
	President of the Senate

	 
	J. L. Mavretic
	Speaker of the House of Representatives