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Elizabeth Firestone Willis; Granddaughter of Tire Baron

Elizabeth Firestone Willis, 66, granddaughter of Firestone Tire founder Harvey S. Firestone and an accomplished composer. Mrs. Willis studied piano at Columbia University and began her career with compositions for children’s broadcasting. She later wrote movie sound tracks. She performed on television and radio and at the Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony. She later turned to jazz and performed with Lionel Hampton, Mel Torme, Gene Krupa and B. B. King, among others. She served as musical coordinator during President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Administration. In 1954, Elizabeth Firestone married Charles F. Willis Jr., the founder of Alaska Airlines. They were divorced in 1973. In Pittsburgh on Oct. 18 of heart failure.

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