Willis Ray Cowlishaw, 98, passed away early Sunday, March 16, 2025, after a day surrounded by family that he loved so much and that loved him in return. His passing followed a series of health challenges following a fall last October.

Willis was born in Wolco, Oklahoma, on June 18, 1926, to William Ray and Grace Lida (Thompson) Cowlishaw. Upon graduation from Skiatook High School in 1944, Willis enlisted in the United States Navy and served as a Seaman First Class - Gunner's Mate on the carrier USS Essex during the final year of WWII combat in the Pacific, then on the USS Randolph returning GIs from Europe to the US, sailing into New York Harbor on Christmas Day, 1945. Willis was proud of his service, and especially proud to join with other veterans of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. in his early 90s.

Willis returned to Oklahoma and renewed his friendship with Wanda McDowell of Bartlesville, whose mother Lola was a friend of Grace. Willis and Wanda were married October 19, 1946 in Bartlesville. Willis earned a degree in horology from Hardin Junior College (now Midwestern University). He began his jewelry industry career as a watchmaker in Muskogee and Tulsa, where his sons Patrick Ray and William Timothy were born. At one of the first Zale stores, in Tulsa, Willis worked the sales floor during the day and took watches at home at night for repairs. Soon the company recognized his talent for sales and management. Promotions took the family to Topeka, Kansas, back to Tulsa, to northern New Jersey and, in 1963, to the Dallas area, where Zale was headquartered. Dallas would be home for the rest of his life. For two decades, Willis served as President of Zale's Fine Jewelers Guild Division, higher-end jewelry stores that Zale acquired and operated under established names like Corrigan's in Dallas and Houston. Under the mentorship of Morris Zale, the company's founder, Willis led the Guild as it expanded across US cities and suburbs to more than 200 stores. By the time Willis left Zale, a career that began at a watchmaker's bench had taken him to the boardroom of a NYSE-traded company. Along the way he nurtured the successful careers of hundreds of men and women, many of whom became lifelong friends. He worked as a consultant to the industry well into the 2000s, even traveling to Poland to help jewelers make the transition to capitalism. His hunger for work never left him.

Willis lost Wanda to cancer in June 1969, when they were both 42. Willis had been close at her side throughout the years-long fight that had gone before. Several months later, one of Wanda's brothers-in-law introduced Willis to a new work colleague, Patricia Evans. Their friendship blossomed, and on May 9, 1970, Willis and Patricia began a marriage that would endure for more than 54 years. Willis and Patricia traveled extensively for work and for fun, across the US and Europe, with memorable moments like ballooning over France, riding the Jungfrau train, and seeing Aida performed in Verona. They built a second home in Horseshoe Bay West, the site of many happy family gatherings, where grandchildren fed the deer, Willis beat his sons at golf, and all enjoyed the hot tub and the food, music and scenery of the Hill Country. Back in Dallas, Willis supported Patricia's civic engagement – through the Richardson Symphony, the Dallas Opera, and especially the Dallas Arboretum and its Women's Garden.

Away from work, Willis was an avid golfer. Not taking up the game until his 30s, he learned to groove his slice, and save his best for the eighteenth hole, taking lots of friendly bets. He played some of the world's great courses, from Pebble Beach to the Old Course at St. Andrews, to the Kiowa Island courses he regularly enjoyed with friends from Zale days. At 82, he became the rare golfer who "shoots his age," which Tim captured in a Dallas Morning News column. At 84, after complications from bypass surgery, doctors told him he was unlikely to play golf again. After a year or so of protest, Willis was cleared to pitch and putt. Soon he was playing full rounds. For this return to the game, his regular group at the Ridgeview Ranch course presented him their Profiles in Courage Award. Willis continued to play through 96.

Willis was a devoted father to Pat and Tim in every stage of life. He was immensely proud of Pat's work as a lawyer, serving many years as partner and general counsel with Jackson Walker, and Tim's as a sportswriter, lead columnist for the Dallas Morning News the past 27 years. Once Pat and Tim had children, Willis took on the cherished role of "Papa," showering them all with smiles, fun, and encouragement. Willis remained close to his extended family, visiting often with his brothers and sister, and nudging the Cowlishaw clan to gather in reunion from time to time.

In all of this, Willis was a deeply devoted Christian. His mother's Baptist faith was strong and contagious. Willis joined the Methodist Church as an adult. He has been a friendly presence and lay leader at First United Methodist Richardson, University Park United Methodist, and St. Andrews Methodist. Most important, Willis lived his faith every day, carrying out the command to love your neighbor with each person he encountered, in every walk of life. Willis never met a stranger. Across a jewelry counter, at the office, on the golf course, or over a sandwich, Willis was fully present and ready to listen to anyone. His kind and thoughtful words turned around many lives.

Willis was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Wanda, his brothers Darrell, Willard, and Milton Cowlishaw, his sister Maxine Cartwright, and his daughter-in-law Lori Cowlishaw. His is survived by his wife Patricia, his sons Patrick Cowlishaw (Melanie) and Tim Cowlishaw (Shana), by his five grandchildren, Hayley Elizabeth Cowlishaw, Dr. Meredith Cowlishaw Drake (Colin), Robert Willis Cowlishaw (Dr. Abby), Rachel Wanda Kramer (Carlos), and Benjamin Timothy Cowlishaw, and by his two great-grandchildren, Charlotte Pearl Drake and Clark Patrick Drake.

A memorial service will be held in the sanctuary of St. Andrew Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, at 11:00 a.m. on March 31, 2025. A reception will follow in Piro Hall. Memorial gifts may be made to the Women's Council of the Dallas Arboretum, the American Cancer Society, or the charity of your choice.