Willie Lee Spry was born on March 13, 1959 in Manning, South Carolina to Gabe and Willa Mae Spry.  After an extremely private and tenacious fight with cancer; he entered Heaven’s gates on May 2, 2018.

 

Willie gave his life to Christ and was baptized in the Jordan River as a child, while a member of St. Matthew Baptist Church.  He was the second of five children.

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Willie was educated in the public schools of Clarendon County and was a proud Manning Monarch, Class of 1977.  He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering.  Previous to graduation, he accepted a position with DuPont at Savannah River Works. He progressed through the company and lived in North Augusta, SC, Beaumont, TX, Placentia, CA, and Tustin Ranch, CA eventually heading the sales organization for DuPont North America. He owned several patents, and enjoyed retiring so he could maximize his entrepreneurial craft.  He relocated to South Carolina in 2001 to launch his own company, WA2 Enterprises, LLC in honor of his children.

 

Willie loved watching football games, but none mattered more than those of his son Allan Spry.  He enjoyed driving to Baton Rouge to support his son and partake of Cajun cuisine. He found joy in mentoring youth and challenging young men to attain all their dreams and remain successful. His passions included coaching football, watching basketball games, tennis matches, traveling the world, and enjoying the simplicities of life.  He liked jazz, comedy, and loved taking his family to tour homes and attend car shows. He was a parking volunteer at Brookland Baptist Church Northeast each Sunday in the extreme weather, and enjoyed being a servant for the Lord.  The pride of his life was his children, and his joy came from watching his only grandchild, Trey develop and grow. Through all his health challenges, he never complained, and remained a believer in the goodness of God’s grace and mercy.  His meek and humble spirit will be missed by all.  His life was an example of his faith.

 

It is critical to our family that we honor his legacy.  Before he passed, we discussed scholarship opportunities in honor of him.  He picked the eligibility criteria, and we count it all joy to bless someone else.  Willie’s death was NOT in vain, and his spirit lives on through us. This scholarship is being given to help a good student, a good person, and a respected teenager as they utilize education to elevate their life.  Our request is that the selected candidate continue to be blessed, and be a blessing.