Posted on 12/10/2005 4:00:08 AM PST by SLB
LTC (Ret) James Harvey Willis Treadwell, 91, of Elizabethtown died Wednesday, December 7th, 2005 at his residence.
Willis was born in Galveston, Texas on October 26, 1914 to Willis Oliver and Ethel Dodds Treadwell. His father, a conductor on the Galveston to Houston Interurban Railroad, perished while attempting to rescue women and children when the train was swept off a causeway during a hurricane in August 1915. Soon after his father’s death, he and his mother moved to Starkville, Mississippi where her brother, Richey, was a practicing physician. His Uncle Richey became a surrogate father for him, cheering on the sidelines of his football games and encouraging his interest in scouting. He earned his Eagle in 1932, beginning a lifelong dedication to The Boy Scouts of America.
His childhood interest in aviation led to his construction of a glider with a neighborhood friend at the age of 19. After winning a coin-toss he soared into the record books, becoming the first person to fly a glider in the state of Mississippi.
He attended Marion Military Institute in Marion, AL and Mississippi State University (class of 1940) in Starkville, MS where he met Betty Caroline Sheets. They were married in January 1944. They served together around the country and world before settling in Elizabethtown. They were married for 61 ½ years before her death in September. He lovingly helped care for her as her health declined.
Willis had enlisted in the Mississippi National Guard in 1933 and was commissioned in the Army Reserves in 1941. During WWII he trained tank destroyer units at Ft. Hood. He then came to Ft. Knox and was commander of an armored cavalry reconnaissance unit attached to the 2nd Infantry Division, which was preparing for deployment to invade Japan. The unit was in Washington state, ready to deploy, when the war ended.
In 1947 he became one of the first forty military advisors to the Korean Army in the turbulent years immediately prior to the Korean War. Betsy and daughter Suzanne joined him in 1949 for his last year in Korea.
Lt. Colonel Treadwell commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Cavalry on the Iron Curtain from 1954 until 1956. After his retirement at Ft. Knox in 1961, Willis returned to Mississippi State University, earning his masters degree in history. Following the completion of his studies, he taught history in Jackson, MS. He was then director of the MacDill Air Force Base office of the University of Tampa from 1964 to 1966, after which he returned to Kentucky to serve as the deputy director of the Education Center at Ft. Knox until his retirement in 1984. He satisfied his passion for teaching and history by continuing to instruct classes in Western Civilization and Aviation History for the University of Kentucky and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
Upon moving to Elizabethtown in 1966, Willis became involved in the First Presbyterian Church, serving through the years as Sunday school teacher, deacon, elder, and trustee. He was chairman of the building committee for the new church, which was completed in 1993. In the spring of 1967, Walt Sutton, former pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Elizabethtown encouraged Willis to form a Boy Scout Troop at the church. Troop 829 was established, and Willis became Committee Chairman in 1968. He served as Advancement Chairman and Eagle Advancement Chairman for the Lincoln Trail District from 1968 until 2004. Through the years, Willis helped hundreds of scouts attain the rank of Eagle.
Willis was a member of the Elizabethtown Noon Rotary. He was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow on two different occasions and served for many years as secretary/treasurer and president of the Elizabethtown Club.
He loved to be in the outdoors, gardening, hunting, or hiking. He was an avid golfer and photographer. Growing up when the ice man brought blocks of ice and doctors made house calls with a horse and buggy, he was fascinated by and eager to learn about current technology being used in wireless laptops, cellular phones, and digital cameras.
Everyone who knew him could attest to his master storytelling. Entertaining and informing friends and family with stories from the past, he passed on his love of history and his pride in country and family to many others.
Willis was preceded in death by his wife Betty Sheets Treadwell and his parents Willis O. and Ethel D. Treadwell. Survivors include four daughters, Suzanne Roiger and Richard of Bloomington, MN, Patricia Watson and Mark of Louisville, Janice Burzlaff and Steve, and Katherine Caswell, all of Elizabethtown; 14 grandchildren, Scott Wiebold, Tim Wiebold, Wade Wiebold, Lora Johnson, Valerie Watson, Mark Watson, Beth Jackson, Richard Burzlaff, Mary Burzlaff, Ruth Burzlaff, Charlotte, Burzlaff, Will Caswell, Matt Caswell, and Josh Caswell; 13 great-grandchildren; and his caregivers Robin Music, Helen McArthur, and Brenda Skala.
The funeral will be 3:00 PM Sunday at the First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Skip Dunford officiating. Burial will follow in Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens. Visitation is from 2:00 to 7:00 PM Saturday and 1:00 to 2:30 PM Sunday at Brown Funeral Home.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Hospice of Central Kentucky.
Willis was quite a person. I was honored to have known and been associated with him for 34 years. He is from the "greatest generation" and all who knew him know why.
Sincere condolences SLB.
God Bless.
I will not mourn your loss - rather, I will celebrate with you that you had the privilege of being family to such a man as LTC Treadwell.
An impressive man, whose daughter had good taste.
A perfect life. Feel no sorrow, FRiend -- how could he have done better?
Wow! What a wonderful man. My condolences.
HALFWAY DOWN THE ROAD TO HELL IN A SHADY MEADOW GREEN ARE THE SOULS OF ALL DEAD TROOPERS CAMPED NEAR A GOOD OLD-TIME CANTEEN. AND THIS ETERNAL RESTING PLACE IS KNOWN AS FIDDLERS GREEN.
MARCHING PAST, STRAIGHT THROUGH TO HELL, THE INFANTRY ARE SEEN ACCOMPANIED BY THE ENGINEERS, ARTILLERY AND MARINE. FOR NONE BUT THE SHADES OF CAVALRYMEN DISMOUNT AT FIDDLER'S GREEN
THOUGH SOME G0 CURVING DOWN THE TRAIL TO SEEK A WARMER SCENE, NO TROOPER EVER GETS TO HELL ERE HE'S EMPTIED HIS CANTEEN, AND SO RIDE BACK TO DRINK AGAIN WITH FRIENDS AT FIDDLER'S GREEN.
AND SO WHEN MAN AND HORSE GO DOWN BENEATH A SABER KEEN, OR IN A ROARING CHARGE OR FIERCE MELEE YOU STOP A BULLET CLEAN, AND THE HOSTILES COME TO GET YOUR SCALP, JUST EMPTY YOUR CANTEEN, AND PUT YOUR PISTOL TO YOUR HEAD AND G0 TO FIDDLERS GREEN.
Thank you for the kind words. Yes, it was my honor to have known him. He will be buried in his Boy Scout uniform with military honors.
Sounds like the man led a blessed and fruitful life. While the loss must be painful, the recognition of the tremendous contributions he made to his country, his fellow troops, his students, his Church, and his family, must make you very proud.
His was a life to celebrate!
And so it is our duty to pass that knowledge on. So sorry for your family's loss.
Yes it was.
This generation has so much to teach us. We only have to take the time and listen. For the past five or six months my wife has almost lived with him. Talking to him, taking pictures, but also recording with camcorder his stories of life, from building the glider, to being wounded in Korea, to the joy at seeing his first grandchild.
Truely a great man and a great American. God bless him and his family.
Thank you for bringing us the story of this good man. Now we all get to know of him.
My Condolences......
Prayer from TX
Thank you for sharing this.
Thanks for the good memories of a good man who certainly honored the tradition of his name.
God bless him
please except my condolences
What a wonder lifes ride is SLB.....
Two things that ment the most to him in life represented at his funeral. Such a man could not help but make this world better and the people he knew proud to be called friend, family and mentor.
May the day be easy for his children, his extended family and friends. Thanks for sharing his story with us sir.....
Stay safe ~
Wow, he's a man a bit older than my father, but of the same 'generation' of men to whom Duty, Honor and Country were more than mere words.
Blessings to his family and those who had the great fortune to know him.
Mourn the loss; Celebrate the life.
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