Piecing it all together: The Willingham family

PROGRESS 2018— Kim and Junior Willingham have a perspective on family that transcends the concept of mom, dad and the kids.

“Family is not just inside the walls of a house. It consists of a community, webbed together, that takes care of everybody,” Kim said. It’s a truth they have personally experienced.

Junior was raised on the family farm in Belgreen, and Kim grew up just down the road in Burnout. Mutual friends set them up, and they have been married 22 years.

The Willinghams’ oldest children are 16-year-old twins, Trey and Emma Grace. Their family grew by four when the Willinghams adopted Felicia, 14, Natalie, 11, and Miguel, 10, and brought David, 15, into their family in summer 2017, after a couple years of fostering.

It was during that fostering and adoption process that “the community rallied around us – the Belgreen school, the Belgreen community as a whole,” Kim said. Furniture, clothes, food, Christmas presents were all contributed by their Belgreen family to help their adoption and transition go smoothly.

The family is well established in the community. Junior Willingham has been driving a school bus for Belgreen High School for 33 years – an occupation he began when he himself was still a student at BHS, as a career path that meshed well with being able to farm at the same time. Kim is a custodian at Belgreen, a job she began 11 years ago when her children started kindergarten. The two both love being around children.

In addition to driving a bus, Junior stays busy with the school as Booster Club president, running the concession stand and helping guide Belgreen programs – which he said wouldn’t be possible without the help of his fellow officers: vice president Tony Barber, secretary Nancy Terrell and treasurer Mary Jo Bryant. Junior also helps with the fishing team at Belgreen, and he is on the board of directors for the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association and Northwest Alabama Livestock.

The Willinghams have 600-plus acres of farmland with 140-head of cattle. When they aren’t running the farm, the family is always on-the-go with ballgames and other athletic events.

Trey, a junior, is most involved with the fishing team, with which he has participated for the past three or four years. It’s a pastime that takes him to more than a dozen tournaments annually. He also enjoys deer hunting. Following graduation, he aims to work at Tiffin Motorhomes.

Emma Grace, also a junior, has been active in basketball since second grade. “I love being on the floor and diving after everything,” she said. “That’s what everybody knows me for. My coach tells everybody I do the dirty work. I love being aggressive; I love to hustle.” She also plays softball, runs track and cross country and is active in HOSA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and History Club. She aims to pursue a career in physical therapy. Outside of school, she loves photography, riding horses and helping on the farm.

David is a sophomore. He also plays basketball, and he is an alternate on the fishing team. He said he enjoys working the farm with Trey, Miguel and Junior.

Felicia is in eighth grade. She plays softball and basketball and runs cross country and track. She is in the History and 4H clubs and also likes to draw. She wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

Natalie, a sixth-grader, plays youth basketball and softball. Science is her favorite subject.

Miguel is in the fourth grade, and he also plays basketball.

If the Willinghams aren’t at someone’s game or competition, they are probably getting together with extended family, who all live nearby, or hosting a gathering in their home. They love having friends and family over. “We had 50 people here doing New Year’s Eve. We had the bar full of food, and we played cards and had a blast,” Kim said. Cousins are often around – their house is the family hangout spot – and Sunday morning before church at the Posey church of Christ, the Willinghams join their extended family, about 20 people in total, at grandparents Floyd and Lurlie Willingham’s house for breakfast.

Kim’s mother Nancy Akers is also a rock in their life, always available to help with taking care of the children whenever she is needed.

Another important person in their life was Brian Wood, who passed away in April 2017. “We all called him Woody,” Junior said. Woody is remembered as someone who would do anything for anyone. Kim called him “the school’s right-hand man.”

Whether they are working the farm, cheering each other on at a basketball game or enjoying a meal together at home, the Willinghams are often together and always supporting each other.

“Without family, you wouldn’t have anything. They are the core of your life,” Kim said. Junior agreed, “They are the people you can lean against and the people who lean against you.”