John William Willard Sr.

John Willard Sr, 70, of Edmond, Oklahoma, passed away on November 24, 2021 at his home, after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer, with both his son Brett and wife Susan at his side.
John was a loving husband, father and friend to many. He is survived by his wife Susan Willard, sons Brett Willard and John Willard Jr, daughters Marisa Cornish and Danielle Willard, and his 3 dog children - Buddy, Sasha and Bella. John is also survived by 4 grandchildren and his older brother Dean Willard.
He was preceded in death by his brother George Willard, and sister Audrey Henry.
John was the son of the late George Willard and Edith Willard. He entered this world on September 27, 1951 in Baraboo Wisconsin. John's family raised with him a very strong work ethic. His father owned several gift shops in Wisconsin Dells and "Johnny" as they called him started helping his Dad in the gift shops and even running the cash register at the age of 5.
John graduated from Wisconsin Dells High School in 1969 and then attended the University of Wisconsin. He then went on to have a successful career in restaurant management with Red Lobster. John later changed career paths and went on to be a successful salesman in the car business. He was promoted to Management, and eventually achieved General Manager status. He managed several car dealerships including Tom & Jerry's in Wescosville, PA where he met Susan, who worked for him as a Finance and Insurance Manager.
John and Susan moved to Cape Coral Florida in 1998 to take care of John's father, George Willard who was in an assisted living facility. John and Susan married in 1998, at George Willard's assisted living facility, with George walking Susan down the aisle.
John had a successful sales career with George S. May Company while in Cape Coral and their son Brett was born in Cape Coral in 1999.
John was promoted with George S. May and the family moved to Charlottesville Virginia. John later joined Susan at Sprint where he worked in Sales/Customer Service.
In 2003 the family moved to Edmond OK so that Susan could attend law school.
John worked for a home builder as a sales person and then went on to work for Petra. John had a long and successful career with Petra for 17 years, achieving numerous sales awards. He loved his job at Petra and continued to work remotely from home in his office until the end of his life.
John was an avid NASCAR fan. He loved driving and had always wanted to be a NASCAR driver. He always watched the NASCAR races on tv. He also loved watching football. He enjoyed watching any game that the Green Bay Packers were playing and he also liked watching OU games since Brett attended OU.
John loved traveling with his wife Susan and son Brett in the early years of their marriage. Some of the places they traveled to include Atlantic City, NJ, Florida, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Las Vegas, and Nashville. They They made numerous trips to Disney World for Brett.
John had a special bond with his son Brett, and in the last year Brett was at his Dad's side being his caretaker almost every day. John's illness in the last year progressed to the point where he was not able to walk without assistance of a walker or wheelchair. Although he loved driving he was not able to do that anymore.
Although John's strength had deteriorated physically, he was still a fighter.
He was very strong emotionally, and spiritually and he kept on fighting to the end.
He was selfless and caring. He even ordered a full Thanksgiving meal right before he passed so that Susan would not have to cook.
He will be greatly missed.