James Willard French

Friday, September 17, 2021

James Willard French, known to his friends and family as Will, passed away peacefully on Saturday, September 11, 2021. He was surrounded by his wife, Diane and his two daughters, Patricia (Trish) and Cynthia and their husbands.

Will was born on July 7, 1925, in Yarbro, Arkansas to Sterling and Clemmie French. His Dad was the local grocer and the family lived there until his high school years when they moved to Blytheville. He attended Blytheville High School until he was drafted his senior year (October 9, 1943) into the Army where he received his High School diploma after basic training.

His military was spent in the Asiatic Pacific Theater where he was wounded almost losing his foot due to a grenade. He received his Honorable Discharge on June 18, 1946 from the Brooke General Hospital, Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

He married the love of his life, Diane on April 1, 1950. It was obviously not an April Fool's joke because they were married for over 71 years.

Following in his father's footsteps, he opened his first grocery store in 1952 and remained in the grocery business until he retired at the young age of 62. He had worked long and hard hours with little time for enjoyment so when he retired, he started traveling with his good friend, Red Gill who was on the barbeque circuit. They traveled the country doing competitions and private events. One of his most memorable events was cooking for the Clinton Inauguration in Washington, DC.

When his barbeque days were over, he developed a new routine of starting most mornings at the Dixie Pig with his coffee drinking buddies, having a hot plate lunch at Ms. Wests, and then heading up to Yarbro to loaf, as he always put it, with some of his old grade school friends.

The end of the day was always with Diane in their backyard swing with them across the street neighbors, Larry & Lorene Katz. His final Chapter was spent in Titusville, Florida enjoying the sunshine, watching Diane play golf, catching an occasional rocket launch, or just sitting outside and taking a nap.

He was an active member of the Blytheville City Council for several years serving on the planning and zoning commission. He was a dedicated member of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Blytheville Jaycees, the Blytheville Country Club, and the First Baptist Church where he always looked forward to his weekly Men's Sunday School Class.

Will was a man of little words so therefore he was a great listener. It was always said Will had the best memory of anyone at the table! This made it even sadder when it started to fail him in his later years. He loved his family and always put them first. He took great pride in providing Diane and the girls with all the opportunities that they needed to succeed in life. He had a very dry wit and always a twinkle in his eye when he grinned. Others considered him to be humble, honest, and hardworking. He was always respected by anyone and everyone he encountered from his customers to his friends and family. He loved Arkansas Razorback Football and basketball. His favorite meal was baby back ribs, ripe tomatoes with just the right amount of salt & pepper, and always ending with a dessert that included Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream. He loved his daily newspapers, which he read every morning and afternoon.

His 5 grandchildren called him BaBa and all have their own special memories of him from going on golf cart rides and all fighting to be the driver, to eating candy at his store, learning to play Tonk, root beer floats, TOPPS baseball cards, driving out to the river to see how high the water was, his favorite expression "showing out" which he always used when they were getting too loud & on his nerves, but most of all his Arkansas Hams! He never came to Dallas to visit without bringing one! They were and still are a tradition every Thanksgiving!

He is preceded in death by his parents, his 2 sisters Oletta Russell and Janie Lou French, and 2 brothers Willis French and Earl French.

He is survived by his beautiful wife, Diane of 71 years, his daughters Patricia ''Trish" Hill and husband John of Dallas, Texas, and Cynthia Widner and husband Mike of Titusville, Florida, 1 granddaughter, Holly Hill Krug and husband Adam of Dallas, Texas, great grandsons, Ashton, Tanner, & Hudson. 4 grandsons Chase Hill and wife Taylor of Dallas, Texas, great grandson, Wells. Hunter Hill and wife Catherine of Dallas, Texas, great granddaughters, Grace and Sutton. Austin Hill and wife Lauren of Dallas, Texas, great grandsons, Henry, Forrest, & John Hayes. Clayton Hill and wife Kathleen of Dallas, Texas, great granddaughter, Mary Francis, great grandsons, Walker & Whitney.

Graveside services will be held Monday, September 20, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. at Elmwood Cemetery. Condolences may be expressed to the family at Cobbfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Alzheimer's Foundation of America.