John Jacob Willis, a retired steelworker who was a cook aboard a Navy vessel during World War II, died Jan. 27 after suffering a heart attack, his son said. The Dundalk resident was 86.
Mr. Willis, who was born in the Colgate Creek area of Dundalk, was still a frequent driver at the time of his death and had just returned to his apartment from a weekly dinner date with a group of friends when he fell ill, according to his son, John D. Willis of Myrtle Beach, S.C.
He attended Dundalk High School but quit after the ninth grade so he could work to help support his family, his son said. He worked several odd jobs: picking tomatoes on a local farm, working for a pickle company and at a bakery.
In 1942, at age 21, Mr. Willis joined the Navy, where he served as a cook and a fireman on a ship in the Pacific. He married Elizabeth Stewart, who was a friend of one of his sisters, in 1944 while on leave from the Navy. Mrs. Willis died in 2000.
The couple settled in East Baltimore, where they lived in a house on South Robinson Street in Highlandtown for more than 20 years. Mr. Willis found work as a sheet metal mechanic at the Bethlehem Steel plant at Sparrows Point, where he worked for 41 years.
"It was a job," Mr. Willis' son said of his father's career. "Back then, you worked whether you liked it or not. He went to work every day. He never missed a day in 41 years. He had a very good work ethic."
In his spare time, Mr. Willis enjoyed playing cards - pinochle, poker and blackjack. He often took trips to casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., and Las Vegas, his son said. Closer to home, he frequented the local race tracks, including Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park.
"He played cards in the Navy," his son said. "He just really enjoyed it."
After his wife of 56 years died, Mr. Willis went to live with his son in South Carolina but returned to his hometown after about three years.
Mr. Willis was buried Wednesday at Oak Lawn Cemetery.
In addition to his son, he is survived by a daughter, Sharon Stawski of Summerfield, Fla.; two brothers, Clarence Willis of Dundalk and Joseph Willis of Seaford, Del.; four grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.