Mom who lost children in crash donates books to benefit charity

A former Batavia resident who lost her children in a fiery expressway crash will be helping a local charity this holiday season.

Janet Willis lost six of their children in a vehicle crash in 1994, donated 50 copies of her recent book to benefit the Valley Sheltered Workshop.

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke featured Willis' book, "A Dad's Delight," during a talk at the Batavia Library last week on local literary ties.

When Willis found out what he planned to do, she offered to donate copies to the city to benefit the nonprofit group that finds work for disabled adults.

"They're really extraordinarily generous people," said Batavia electric department Superintendent Hank Vejvoda, a friend of the Willis and her husband, Duane, a church pastor.

The death of the Willis children, who died when a large piece of metal fell off a truck, hitting their van's gas tank, helped launch the investigation into George Ryan's tenure in office. The driver of the truck had paid a bribe to get his license when Ryan was secretary of state.

Before Willis became a pastor, he was a special education teacher and wrestling coach at Batavia Middle School in the early 1970s, Schielke said.

The couple's son, Hank, who was 6 when he died, was named for Vejvoda.

Willis' book, which she wrote and illustrated, tells the story of her son Hank breaking a window and being forgiven by his father.

Copies of the book are $17 and are available through the mayor's office, (630) 879-1424. All the proceeds will go to the Valley Sheltered Workshop.