ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: NEWS OBIT
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
Retired Roanoke police Sgt. Glenn O. Wills, the first president of the local and state chapters of the Fraternal Order of Police, died Sunday after a brief illness. He was 83.
Wills was among the 11 city police officers who met in secret to charter the state's first FOP organization in 1952.
Officers had heard about the FOP from out-of-state counterparts, so Wills called the national organization. There had to be 10 members to receive a charter, and it wasn't easy to recruit people.
``It was hard to get something started because people thought you were trying to start a union, but it wasn't a union,'' said retired city police Major Clarence Layman.
Some officers were afraid they would be fired if they joined, Roanoke Sheriff Alvin Hudson said. Wills, Hudson, Layman and eight others met privately in a bank basement until they got everything organized.
In January 1952, a national FOP officer from West Virginia came to town and declared the Roanoke group an official lodge. Within a few weeks, the lodge's membership had boomed.
Wills was elected president, then helped get a state organization started and was elected its first president.
The FOP's mission was to develop a link between the community and the police, said Wills' son, Steve, also a police officer. The emphasis on community service interested Wills.
Acting Police Chief Jake Viar said Wills was an officer ahead of his time - a supporter of community policing before people called it community policing.
``He seemed to care for everybody,'' Viar said. ``Nobody was of too low a stature for him to befriend.''
Steve Wills was the first lieutenant of the city's community-oriented policing team, which he helped found in 1991.
Glenn Wills is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lucy Bowles Wills, and his two sons, Doug and Steve, who both live in Roanoke. His funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. today at Oakey's Roanoke Chapel.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Willsby CNB