Damon Blake Willis

Damon Blake Willis, 51, died July 30, 2024, after waging a heroic 8-year war against Stage IV cancer.
Damon was born at Baptist Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, November 20, 1972. He moved with his parents to Louisville in 1975. He graduated from Male High School in 1991, from the University of Kentucky in 1996, and the University of Louisville School of Law in 2000. With a sharp legal mind and a caring heart, Damon thrived on advocating for underdogs in our justice system.
Damon earned law licenses in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia. Since 2004, he was a partner in his law firm, and the managing partner at Ewing and Willis since 2013. He tried many cases before juries, argued before the United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and had several unanimous wins before the Kentucky Supreme Court. Damon was a zealous trial lawyer and a friend to his clients. He was a proud member of the Kentucky Justice Association (KJA) and American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an invitation-only organization of the finest lawyers and judges in America.
In May 2016, Damon was diagnosed with Stage IV cancer. Over the next eight years, he endured over 4,000 hours of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, over 100 radiation treatments to his liver, lung, colon and brain, but he still mustered strength to ride in Norton's Bike to Beat Cancer in September 2023. On his final day of life, while wearing a Rocky tee shirt emblazoned with "Keep Moving Forward," he celebrated completion of three more rounds of brain radiation. Damon epitomized Coach Jimmy Valvano's mantra: "Don't give up, don't ever give up!"
Damon's positive spirit refused to let cancer rob him of love, joy, dreams, and hope. He achieved his three personal goals for 2024. First, on February 17, 2024, Damon wed attorney Ashton Smith, his beautiful soulmate and best friend, at the Muhammed Ali Center. They became engaged while passing the Eiffel Tower on a romantic cruise on the Seine River the preceding year, and as Damon said in his wedding vows, "Ashton inspired me to live."
In March 2024, Damon was keynote speaker for the Colon Cancer Prevention Project's "Bottoms Up Bash" at the Olmsted, fulfilling his second goal. He gave an inspiring 43-minute testimonial about living with courage, humor, and hope despite cancer.
In June 2024, Damon reached his third goal-celebrating his first son's high school graduation. He was proud that Jackson had enrolled at UK and that son Wyatt would soon attend Manual High School. An adoring, all-in father, Damon Willis treasured every moment with his two sons, and they reciprocated.
Cancer never stopped Damon from traveling the world. He made bucket-list trips with family members to Chicago, Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas, and New York City in 2018; Key West and Cozumel in 2019; Hilton Head Island in 2020; New Mexico's "Breaking Bad" sites, Las Vegas, and Punta Cana in 2021; Bahamar in Nassau, Bahamas, London, and Paris in 2022; Memphis, San Antonio, and Costa Rica in 2023; St. Lucia and Cancun in 2024.
Damon bled blue for the University of Kentucky Wildcats. His grandparents, Superman, Muhammad Ali, and Rocky Balboa were his heroes. He had memorized all the Rocky movies and his favorite movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." He enjoyed Karaoke, everything Bon Jovi, and living in Norton Commons. Damon, whose name means "loyal," was a true friend to many, generous to a fault, the life of the party, and first to help in a crisis. He had an eye for flashy sport coats and ties, reveled in contrasting the original price with what he ended up paying, and in outfitting his handsome sons for special occasions.
Damon posted inspiring quotations throughout his home. In his entry way were the words of the Dalai Lama: "There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live."
Even on July 30, Damon Willis continued to smile, embodying Bon Jovi's words: "It's my life, it's now or never, I ain't gonna live forever, I just wanna live while I'm alive." Damon filled his heart with music, and his car, and his house-often unable to contain himself and bursting into song. Other favorite Bon Jovi messages were, "I must confess, I've lived, I've died. God bless this mess, this mess is mine," and "Round here we bend but don't break / Down here we all understand / When you can't do what you do /You do what you can."
Damon is survived by Ashton Smith, his wife; Jackson and Wyatt Willis, his sons; Dottie and Wayne Willis, his parents; Paula and Wayne Smith, his wife's parents; his brother, Justin Willis (Kerry) and nieces Seven and Abilene; his brother, Carden Willis (Courtney) and nephews Clark and Campbell; uncles Mark Willis (Julia) and Mike Jones (Jackie); and Melissa Willis, his co-parent. He will be remembered by family, friends, clients, neighbors, doctors, and nurses for his indomitable spirit. He demonstrated Viktor Frankl's truth, "Everything can be taken away from a person but one thing, the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
To fight cancer, you can make a gift in honor of Damon Blake Willis to the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research.
The date and place to celebrate his life will soon be set.
Arrangements under the direction of Pearson's, "Where Louisville Goes to Remember."