Willis Meeks

Willis Meeks, 85, born on January 19, 1938, in Harlan, KY, United States, passed away March 21, 2023. He resided in Rancho Cucamonga, CA at the time of his passing. Arrangements are under the care of Forest Lawn, Covina Hills, CA.

Willis Gene Meeks was born on January 19, 1938 in
Harlan, KY to Maceo and Thelma Meeks. One of five
siblings - all boys - Willis was just one year old when his
father died, leaving his older brother, Gilbert, as his role
model and guide.

Always driven to help others, Willis had his first job at age
12, working as a janitor to help support his family. After
graduating from Rosenwald High School in 1956, Willis
enlisted in the United States Air Force where he trained as
an Electronic Technic ian and Avionic Specialist and served
as a Missile Guidance Systems Specialist and Cryptology
Supervisor. Willis was involved with the development and
testing of the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile,
which was and remains the USA’s first line o f defense from
enemy attack. Before his honorable discharge in 1964,
Willis earned his A. A. degree in electronics at Allan
Hancock College.

In 1965, his civilian career began at the USAF Western Test
Range, where he worked on missile technology. Willis had
increasing responsibilities but was denied a management
opportunity because he had no college degree. Although he
was married, raising children, and working full time, Willis
earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Business
Administration degrees from Cal State Los Angeles in eight
years. Later, he studied international business at Stanford
University.

The majority of Willis career was spent at NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where he worked from 1966
to 1996. He initially served as Network Controller for
NASA’s Deep Space Tracking Network, and then became
Mission Operations Project Engineer for planetary space
missions, such as Surveyor the first moon lander, Mars
and Venus missions, and Helios - the first and closest
mission to the sun.

In 1990, Willis became JPL’s first African American Flight
Project Manager, leading the Ulysses Solar Exploration
Project. Ulysses, a $750 million joint effort between NASA
and the European Space Agency (ESA) was a fact finding
mission to assess the earth's total solar environment.
Planned to last five years, Ulysses continued for another 15
years, and was the longest running ESA-operated
spacecraft.

At JPL, Willis worked tirelessly to bring diversity to the
workplace. He helped develop programs to recruit
underrepresented minorities at Historically Black Colleges
and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Institutions.
He secured job opportunities, globally, for minorities,
creating hiring pipelines mentoring at risk youth, and
implementing numerous Adopt-A-School programs
throughout the Los Angeles, Pasadena and Altadena
areas. He worked with executive management to
implement a first ever equity assessment review process,
and held forums that discussed hiring, pay, and promotion
equity regardless of gender, age and/or ethnicity.

In 1996, after a 37 year career in aerospace, Willis retired
from JPL, but continued to apply his executive leadership
skills in industry, both nationally and internationally from
1996 until his full retirement in January 2003.

From 2003 until his passing, Willis served as a nurturing
patriarch of his family, worked to maintain life long
friendships, and expanded his work in the church.

Family was very important to Willis. As a father with four
adult children, six grandchildren, seven great
grandchildren, Willis took his role as mentor and confidant
seriously. Using the internet to send daily affirmation
messages to connect with and encourage family m embers
across the nation, Willis was never too busy to take a call,
lend a hand, or give a hug when needed.

Friends were also important to Willis he worked to
maintain those friendships some spanning 50 years or
more. Each month, Willis met with a group of JPL retiree
black engineers for lunch or by zoom, and communicated
frequently with friends as far away as Uganda and Berlin.

On August 3rd 1991, in Hunstville, Alabama, Willis married
Magalene "Mag" Powell; together, they celebrated thirty-one
wonderful years as best friends, confidants and life
partners Willis and Mag joined Second Baptist Church
(SBC), Monrovia, o n February 16th, 1992 six months after
they wed Willis served faithfully as Co-Director of
Christian Education and taught Bib le Study and Sunday
School. During the pandemic, Father Meeks worked with
the SBC leadership to expand the Sunday School ministry
to a global reach. By using state-of-the-art technology to
enhance the church’s remote access, Sunday School
attendance increased nationally and internationally,
extending to Berlin, Uganda and Israel.

As an appointee to the esteemed Council of Fathers, Willis
led the effort to visit the sick and shut-in even during the
COVID 19 pandemic bringing prayer and comfort to those
who would, otherwise, feel alone. Father Meeks lived by
the words: "Don’t lie. Don’t cheat. Don’t steal. Do good and
bless someone."

Willis is preceded in death by his parents, Maceo and
Thelma Meeks; four siblings Gilbert Charles Meeks,
Marshall “Molly Meeks, Johnny Green and Bobby Green;
a daughter-in-law, Mary Terese Brodi-Meeks; and a
brother-in-law, William Powell. He leaves to mourn his
passing his beloved wife, Magalene ‘Mag 'Powell-Meeks,
four adult children: Larry “Tony Meeks, Pamela Moore, Eric
Meeks, and Shauna (Terence) Ricks; six grandchildren:
Brandon Meeks, Keenan Moore, Micah (Anastasia) Brodi,
Erica Shaw, Elias Ricks, and Caleb Ricks; seven great-
grandchildren: Skyla Meeks, Zachary Oppler, Judah Shaw,
Zoe Brodi, Gianna Shaw, Levi Brodi, and Noah Brodi;
former wife, Genene Carr Meeks; a godson, Rodney
Sermons; a goddaughter, Zirintusa Mudde of Berlin,
Germany; six sisters-in-law: Annie Meeks, Fran (Harold)
Hall, Cynthia (Spencer) Merriweather, Alicia Powell Belva
(Ray) McNeal, Mervine (Bartel) Drake; 2 brothers-in-law
Thaddeus Powell and Marion (Totumoh) Powell; a host of
uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews, as well as
many other relatives, former colleagues and friends.

For 85 years Willis lived a life of service - to his family, his
country, and his colleagues. But it was in service to the
Church and his God that he found his true calling - and his
true joy. Father Meeks is resting now from work well done -
and a life well lived.

1 Peter 4:10 “As each has received a gift, use it to serve
one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace."