Harry Neal Willoughby

Harry Neal Willoughby, 84, passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on March 9, 2024. A longtime resident of Indianapolis and Boggstown, Indiana and Athens, Alabama, Harry died at Prisma Health Greer Memorial Hospital in Greer, South Carolina.

Harry was born on June 20, 1939 in Allen County, Kentucky, the son of Thelma York, a seamstress who also served as a machinist on the home front during WWII, and Clifford Willoughby. His parents divorced when Harry was very young, and his mother remarried when he was four to Theodore Roosevelt Conkrite, whom he considered his true father. He graduated from Reidland High School in 1958 and served from 1959 to 1962 in the United States Army as a keypunch operator with the rank of Specialist Fourth Class. He married Victoria Irene Buzanis on May 24, 1962, in Paducah, KY, and she survives. The couple, whose family grew to include three boys, moved Indianapolis and then to Boggstown.

Following his military service, Harry was briefly employed by Walgreens as an assistant manager. He spent the majority of his career as a tool buyer for the Chrysler Corporation in Indianapolis, where he also served as a negotiator for the United Auto Workers’ Union. He was transferred to Chrysler’s plant in Huntsville, AL, from which he retired in 2000.

A natural tinkerer, Harry was known for acquiring hopelessly broken appliances and objects, rebuilding them back to life, and giving them away to those in need. His projects filled a large outbuilding and occupied much of his time after his retirement from Chrysler. Family and neighbors who wanted to borrow a tool or had an object in need of repair would come to Harry, who would disappear into his workshop and emerge with exactly the right tool or the miraculously repaired object.

Harry’s Christian faith guided him all his life. He was a member of Windsor Village Baptist Church in Indianapolis, Beacon Baptist Church in Shelbyville and then First Baptist Church of Athens. He took many courses at Indiana Bible College and Boyce Bible College.  He loved discussing the Bible and teaching Sunday school.

In addition to his wife of 62 years, Harry is survived by his sons, Rodney (wife, Lee), Ron (wife, Barbara) and Tom (wife, Stacy); brother, Arnett Willoughby; sister, Creo Christian; 10 nieces and nephews; 14 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and one great-grandchild expected in August 2024. He also leaves behind his loving little dog Layla, who loved to sleep between his feet on the recliner and took great comfort in his arms during thunderstorms. Finally, he will be missed by numerous dear friends whose help was deeply appreciated throughout his later years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, stepfather, sister, Carole (Willoughby) Spears, two nieces, a nephew, and a grandson.

A graveside service with military honors will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Beaufort National Cemetery in Beaufort, SC.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Broken Wall Project at https://brokenwallproject.org.

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