Willie was born in 1934, in Mesa, Arizona. He was a member of the U S Marine Corp in the early 1950's. He married Glenda Nell and had two sons in the San Diego area. He was nicknamed "Mother Willie" because of the way he took care of other firefighters at the station. He was a hard working family man who took on side jobs to help his kids and make ends meet. Willie loved his fellow firefighters and on occasion would break down when speaking about them. He died of job-related cancer at the age of 62.