Willie LeeRay Hare was born June 21, 1942. He was the middle child of three sons born to the late Bennie H. and Geneva M. Hare. He attended public schools in South Carolina at Howard Glen and then at Booker T. Washington. After graduation, he moved to Washington, DC, where he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. After his military service, he returned to Washington and began his career at the Washington Post. Serving 22 years, he retired from the Washington Post and began to travel the world with his long-loved companion, Barbara A. Allen. In 2007, he returned to South Carolina and joined New Shiloh Baptist Church where he was a Trustee and was always willing to give a helping hand. As Willie always said, “I am a stranger to no one.”

He was preceded in death by his older brother, Bennie R. Hare (Vernell) and his faithful companion, Barbara A. Allen. In his passing, he leaves to mourn is his only child, Renee M. Lawson; four grandchildren: Wade, Ashton, Alanna and Desmond; two great-grandchildren, Kharyn, and Kylon; brother, Clarence J. Hare (Jessie); a host of nieces, nephews, all of Washington D.C. and numerous friends.