James Wills

James Bowling Wills, 84, passed away on January 8, 2013, of natural causes in Fort Myers, Florida. “Bow” Wills was the loving husband for sixty-one years of Cynthia Safford Wills, who passed away on October 18, 2012. Born on February 9, 1928, the son of Francis Reed and Madeline Hayward Wills of Allentown, Bow was predeceased by his siblings S. Hayward, Francis Reed, and Ruth Padgett. He attended Portsmouth Abbey School where he was twice honored as Scholar-Athlete and earned a position as a linebacker on the Rhode Island football team. At Yale University he was a member of Berkeley College and graduated with a B.A. in economics in 1948. He served as a corporal in the Army during the Korean War. Bow was vice president at Stuyvesant Insurance, Inc., and later president and CEO of Eastern Industries, Inc., during the 1960s up to 1976. He subsequently was a successful financial planner in the Lehigh Valley. Bow was a member of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, a board member of Sacred Heart Hospital, and an active fundraiser for The United Way. A lifelong benefactor of many charities, Bow believed that his early efforts on behalf of DeSales University as well as the Halfway Home of the Lehigh Valley were the most significant. Bow and Cynthia were active members of St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Fort Myers, and previously of St. Francis Assisi Parish and the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena. Survivors: he will be fondly remembered by his six children, Jim, Cindy, Ted, Reed, Tom, and Mary and seven grandchildren. Services: a memorial service was led by his parish priest and family members at his home in Cypress Cove, Fort Myers, on Friday, January 11th. A memorial Mass for Bow and Cynthia will be held in the Allentown area in February. Additional information will be announced on Bow’s Book of Memories at www.falkfuneralhomes.com. Contributions: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in the name of J. Bowling Wills to the Children’s Craniofacial Association, 13140 Coit Road, Suite 517, Dallas, TX 75240 or donate online in memory of Bow at www.ccakids.org