Homebuilder and longtime community volunteer
LYNNFIELD — Charles Barry Wills, 101, noted homebuilder, died on May 14, 2025.
A Celebration of Life in Charlie’s honor will be held on Friday July 18, at 10:30 a.m. at Centre Congregational Church, 5 Summer St., Lynnfield.
Charlie grew up in Melrose, Massachusetts, where he was born in 1924 to architect Royal Barry Wills and Marguerite Waggett Wills. After graduating from Melrose High School in 1941, he began college but then enlisted in the Army in November 1942. He served in the Army Air Corps from February 1943 to October 1945, surviving 35 missions as a radio operator/gunner on a B-24 out of Southern Italy.
After the war, Charlie married Arline (Arnie) Kiessling – his high school sweetheart – in 1946 and they completed college together at the University of New Hampshire. Two days after graduation, he founded Charles B. Wills & Co., eventually building more than 600 homes, two-thirds of them in Lynnfield. Decades after his retirement, “Wills-built” in a real estate listing still commands a premium price.
Charlie and Arnie lived in Lynnfield for 72 years, spending their final years at Edgewood Retirement Community in North Andover. Charlie contributed in innumerable ways to community life in Lynnfield, serving on many town committees, finally retiring from the Planning Board in his mid-90s.
Beyond his love of family and home-building, Charlie’s top three interests were camp, cars, and skiing. From 1932 to 2024, his summers were spent at the family camp on Great East Lake in Acton, Maine. His fascination with cars began in his teens and extended until 2021, when he sold his four antique cars. Although he didn’t begin skiing until nearly 40, he became an avid downhill skier, continuing until age 92 – the same age at which he gave up tennis.
Charlie leaves behind four children: Richard Wills of Denver, Colorado; Nancy Keteku (Willie) of Accra, Ghana; Cynthia Harriman (Lew) of Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Martha Rausch (Jon) of Rowley, Massachusetts. Seven grandchildren also survive Charlie: Elizabeth Harriman, Sam Harriman, Emma Rausch, Hannah Rausch, Yaw Keteku (Yasmin), Kofi Keteku (Sena) and Adam Wills. He also leaves behind six great-grandchildren: Anna and Holly Cha; and Zora, Jayson, Ama and Kekeli Keteku. Arnie Wills, his wife of nearly 77 years, died in 2023.