Robert Willis, known to all as Willis, was born on April 13, 1917 in Jackson, North Carolina, the third son of Charlie Robert and Amie (Wyche) Mitchell. He obtained his education at Mt. Mariah School in Northampton County where he and sisters and brothers walked on a daily basis. Willis was baptized and joined Roanoke Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Garysburg, North Carolina where he attended until he left North Carolina in search of what life had to offer.

Robert was known as the prankster in the family and always kept everybody laughing with his antics. One family tale resulted in Willis getting an "undeserved" beating from his father. His baby sister, Louise, was playing in the cotton field near him when a "fever worm" crawled up on her shoulder. She panicked, screamed for "papa" and jumped on Willis' back - biting him in her frightened state of confusion! Papa heard the mayhem and ran to Willis and gave him a good beating for "hurting that baby."

He was dashing and handsome just like all the Mitchell brothers and also quite the ladies man. He cut quite a picture in his "gangster" hat in the late 1930's and early 1940's. While still a young man though, Willis had one daughter, Lola Mae (Edwards) Baugham.

In search of adventure, he and his brothers Leroy and Walter and their friend and neighbor, Leroy Harris struck out for Sparkhill, New York to live for a while with Uncle Henderson Mitchell. Willis returned home for his father's funeral in 1943 and decided that his mother could use his help at home on the farm. He finally moved back and married his sweetheart, Gussie Mae Faison, on April 13, 1943 - his 26th birthday!

Willis and "Moose" (as Gussie was fondly called) lived at home with his mother for a short while and began sharecropping for Mr. Field Crew. After working with Mr. Crew for a couple of years, he and Gussie moved to the Daniel Farm and continued farming. His mother wanted him to do more for himself and his wife so they moved back to New Jersey and settled down.

Willis and Gussie became foster parents to several children and adopted one daughter, Patricia (Mitchell) Agbai. He worked for the New Jersey school system for many years until he retried and moved back to North Carolina. Instead of Northampton County, his family moved to Roanoke Rapids, in nearby Halifax County where he purchased several houses to rent. He was closer to his remaining siblings and they visited often. Willis was still handsome, loved to laugh, and never missed family reunions. He was very proud of his grandchildren and spent quality time with his family. Willis died on June 19, 1989 in Halifax Memorial Hospital after a lengthy illness and was laid to rest in the Mount Zion Baptist Church cemetery in Seaboard, North Carolina. Gussie died ten years later on November 11, 1999 at Rex Memorial Hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina.