Willie E. Thedford, Jr., 42, of Lancaster, passed away at Hospice and Community Care, Mount Joy, on Saturday, April 2, 2016. Born in Lancaster, he was the son of the late Willie E. Thedford Sr. and Tommie Jean Thedford. He was the loving husband of Lori A. (Baer) Thedford.

Willie grew up in Lancaster City and was a member of the Boys Club of Lancaster. In 1990 Willie received boy of the year award from the Boys Club of Lancaster where he developed a passion for mentoring and educating young men. His passion continued to grow in educating young black men on how to become productive individuals. He was a 1991 Graduate of J.P. McCaskey High School. Willie went on to attend Millersville University where he received his B.S. in Secondary Education in 1995. He continued with his passion and education and eventually received his MBA in education.

Willie was a social studies teacher at J.P. McCaskey East until his illness. He was very involved with the youth of Lancaster and tutored with EXIT LANCASTER (A summer program designed to prepare inner city youth with a variety of choices intended to create a winning life plan). Willie also taught for a year (1997) English in Japan. He also helped to form YouTHrive (an organization developed to help empower city youth to shift from surviving to thriving).

Willie was an avid body builder and was very proud of his work in maintaining his physique. He helped train anyone who asked for his advice. He was an avid sports fan, his favorite teams were the Philadelphia Eagles, Boston Celtics and the UNC – Tar Heels. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends.

In addition to his loving wife Lori, he is survived by six children; Khyre Stuckey wife of T.J. of Austin, TX., Jocelyn Thedford of Brunswick, GA, Jalen Thedford of Lancaster, Christina Wise wife of Josh of Lancaster, Brittany Vallery wife of Derek of Ephrata and Daryl Jarvis also of Ephrata. Five grandchildren; Serenity, Brody, Alexis, Josiah, Jonathan and a sixth grandchild will be born this year, three brothers; Jessie Shelley of Plattsburgh, NY, Lee husband of Catrina Shelley of Lancaster and Frank husband of Kimberly Shelley of Mount Joy, Eight sisters; Nellie Shelley of Orangeburg, SC., Terry Shelley of Columbia, Jessica Thedford of Millersville, Gloria Thedford, Lisa wife of Jermaine Rios, Dorothy Young, Audrey Thedford, Ponzell Thedford all of Lancaster, Half brothers and sisters; David, Tonisha, Tywanna, and Kayla, and a host of nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister Carolyn Williams in 1997.

A Home Going Service will be held on Saturday, April 9th, 2016 at 11AM from the Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home and Crematory, 3110 Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA 17543 with the Rev. Roland Forbes officiating. Visitations will be Friday evening 5-8PM at the funeral home and a second visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday morning from 9:30-11AM. Interment will be in Mellinger Mennonite Cemetery. Please omit flowers, memorial contributions in Willie's memory to the Willie Thedford Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o J.P. McCaskey High School, 445 N Reservoir St, Lancaster, PA 17602.