Jana Willis Waldrop

Jana Willis Waldrop was born 09/25/1970 to Windell “Pete” Willis and Willie Haga Willis. She came home from the hospital to two older twin brothers, Jason and James. Jana was a natural athlete, and as her daughter, I can say that my brother and I only received a part of that athletic ability. From the time she was younger growing into her teen years, Jana excelled at sports, specifically softball and basketball. All of the stories she told from her childhood consisted of hot summers outside or at the court or field. She loved the women she played with and their families dearly, especially her late friend Michelle. She adored my pawpaw and mawmaw but through and through she was a daddy’s girl. They were two peas in a pod. Not long after high school I, Kaleigha, came along as somewhat of a surprise, then four years later she had my brother Seth. These are the years that set the standard for who my mom developed into later in life. We were at church often and we were surrounded by teenagers. Even back then in our single wide mobile home, her as a young single mom with two children, she was an amazing host and entertainer. My mom had the ability to take nothing and make it beautiful, or to take a situation and make it fun. Those were the days I watched her blossom and grow the most. She would dance around the house to vh1 music videos, make brownies, pile Seth and me into the bed with her, we thought we were the richest two kids in the whole world, but by society’s standard, she was under thirty and a single mom, we had “nothing” but in my eyes, we had everything. Not long after our school years began my mom quickly knew that clocking in to a 9-5 career wasn’t for her. She was too creative, always busting at the seams with new grandiose ideas. She used this to her advantage. Whenever we were invited to parties, instead of bringing a store bought gift we showed up with a gorgeous, homemade birthday cake. My mom quickly ran with the identity of room mom extraordinaire, cake lady and many of my male friends quickly picked up on how beautiful she was. Beautiful, she was. She spent most of her teenage years, into her adult age years surrounded by a few good men, we could jokingly say. All her buddies whom she snuck off the Motley Crue concerts with, burned rubber cruising around and could absolutely school on the basketball court: those were her buddies and to them she was nothing more than “just Jana”. She liked it that way though. During the time when she was getting her catering company off the ground she quickly grew from Jana with a Cake in her blue jean shorts and signature ball cap to Jana, owner of Cake N Eat It 2, one of the largest and most prominent catering companies around, if I must say so myself and guess what: we were all her employees. She had a way about her. She was very convincing without even trying. By nature, you wanted to do good because she was doing good. She spent so many years surrounded by people who wanted to be a part of what she was doing. If you ask Seth and I about our times with mom and Cake N Eat it 2, we shutter. Not because we hated the work but because we couldn’t keep up with her, most people couldn’t until she met Mickey, the love of her life. Mickey brought my mom a peace and security she had never felt before. He helped her provide, and not in a monetary way but in a way that she could still be independent and grow what she started before him. He would run his concrete business by day and would be donning a black apron like the rest of us by night. He loved her on days when she was hard to love, and I say that loosely because loving and supporting a woman who can run the world on her own can be tiring, trust me, that is exactly how she raised me. Mickey and mom had so many adventures together, they were with each other all the time. Whether that was riding 4wheelers, hunting for arrowheads, antique shopping or just unwinding after a wedding weekend by the pool listening to Kid Rock. It was just those two living life and along came Lane. (I told you she loved surprising us all). My mom never hesitated once to giving back to someone else, to love someone through their hurt, to provide what they needed and I knew early on that Lane was a the last piece of our family puzzle. In the last few years she was with us her servanthood shown through her actions everyday. She took care of Mickey’s parents in their last days, she was by my pawpaw’s side any time he was sick, she carried my mawmaw back and forth all over the place whenever she needed to be there—all of these things without hesitation all while raising an elementary age child and running a household. She was honorable in those actions and I know that more than anything her legacy of servanthood will outlast us all by years. In the last few months she spent her days watching Lane play football and baseball, teaching him how to cook, watching the New York Yankees or college football with Mickey, going on day trips with my mawmaw, loving on her grandbabies, Ezra, Easton, Emory and Abe and most proudly I think we finally mastered the art of her not losing her lighter, that was our most earned triumph yet. She was loved by many, and will be missed by many, more. She was met at Heaven’s gates on December 26th, 2023 by her daddy, Pete Willis, father in law, Doyce Waldrop and mother in law Margaret Waldrop. She is leaving behind her husband of almost 20 years and love of her life, Mickey Waldrop, children who will carry on a legacy of hard work and servanthood to those around them, Kaleigha Moore (Jamie) Fitch, Seth Moore (Rebekah Hill), David Lane Waldrop and her babies that she as a Mimi loved spoiling rotten with cookies, experiences, and most importantly; love.. Ezra Cramer, Easton and Emory Fitch, Abe Hill. She is also survived by many, gorgeous brides and families who she loved and spoke about nearly every day. In her younger days, they called her Delta Dawn Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on Then a man of low degree stood by her side And he promised her he'd take her for his bride Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on Could it be a faded rose from days gone by? And did I hear you say he was a-meeting you here today To take you to his mansion in the sky --

Jana Willis Waldrop

September 25, 1970 - December 26, 2023