Anna Ruth (Tilley) Alley, 78, of Warrensburg, Missouri, died Friday, April 8, at her home.

Funeral service will be 2 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at Williams Funeral Chapel in Warrensburg with the Rev. Charles Brant officiating.

The family will receive friends from 1-2 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Anna was born March 19, 1938, in Springhill, Arkansas, the daughter of Edgar Allen “Rabe” and Betty “Gladys” (McCollum) Tilley. She grew up along with her five siblings on the family farm where she learned the value of hard work picking cotton as a child. Soon after high school, she moved to Kansas City where she would meet and marry Cecil Eugene Alley on April 29, 1957, in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.

Anna and Cecil purchased and renovated numerous houses for resale, often providing financing and enabling members of the local community to purchase houses when they might otherwise have been denied the opportunity. Anna also worked several different jobs through the years from upholstering furniture to being a florist for a local flower shop. She had a passion for gardening, which was undeniable once you seen her well manicured yard and beautiful flowers.

Survivors include her close companion, Herb Fizer, of Warrensburg; two brothers, Edgar “Hoover” Tilley and wife, Helen, of Greenbrier, Arkansas; and Dwayne Tilley, of Blytheville, Arkansas; two daughters, Gene Kay George, and husband, Russell, of Blairstown; and Shaunna Lynn Hoog, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; stepdaughter, Teresa Ann Alley, of Kansas City; two sons, Steven Alan Alley, and wife, Julie, of Warrensburg; and Gary Eugene Alley, of Warrensburg; stepson, Dr. Robert “Bob” Eugene Alley, and wife, Madelle, of Henderson, Kentucky; 14 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Cecil; her parents; sister, Betty Jo Smith; and two brothers, Bill Tilley and Jim Tilley.

Anna’s request for her family and loved ones was for her to be remembered with a smile and not mourning. She asked that we have a party and remember all the good times we had together and think of the good times we will have when we are together again.

 

Memorial contributions are suggested to Crossroads Hospice in care of the funeral home.

Online condolences may be left at www.williamsfuneralchapel.net.