A private funeral will be held for 92-year-old Dale Roy Wills of Berryton Kansas, formerly of Perryville Missouri, who passed away peacefully Wednesday, March 6, 2024, with his son Corey by his side at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka, Kan. following a brief illness.
He was born June 23, 1931 “in the middle of a dust storm” on a farm near Arriba, Colorado.
He married Melva June Fassold September 20, 1953, in Perryville, Mo. They were married for 61 years until her passing in 2015.
Dale was quite a storyteller, often speaking of his childhood growing up on farms around Arriba, Colorado; Gorham, Illinois, and in Perry County, Missouri.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1951 and served for three years before being honorably discharged at the rank of corporal.
Although serving during the Korean War, Dale’s service was entirely stateside. He would joke that he “fought the battle of Baltimore Maryland.”
During his service, he was sent on temporary duty in 1952 to Nevada where he participated with other ground troops as an observer in one of the above ground atomic bomb tests.
After discharge from the U.S. Army, Dale’s work centered around agriculture. He served the country as a USDA meat inspector for the majority of his career.
Dale enjoyed traveling with his family on summer vacations. They toured much of the US on long camping trips by car or RV.
His love of gardening grew into running a hobby farm, often growing several hundred pounds of popcorn a year along with other organically grown fruits and vegetables he would sell through Rozier’s grocery store or out of the back of his pickup.
He enjoyed cooking, often saying no one knew how to make oxtail soup like he did.
He also loved airplanes, obtaining his private pilot license in 1968.
After living most of his adult life in Perryville, Dale moved to Berryton, Kan. in 2019 to be closer to his family and grandkids.
Survivors include two sons: Terry of St. Ann, Mo. and Corey (Becky) of Berryton, Kan. along with two grandchildren: Ashlyn and Benjamin Wills of Berryton, Kan. Other survivors include his two younger brothers: Vernon and Herman.
Dale was preceded in death by his wife Melva, his parents Roy and Esther Wills, and his older brother Walter.
A private graveside service will be held at a later date.
Burial will be next to Melva at the Home Cemetery in Perryville, Mo.
Memorials are preferred to the Wounded Warrior Project or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.