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Willis died on Sunday at her home in Overton, a community
about 45 miles (72 km) northeast of Las Vegas, according to
Virgin Valley & Moapa Valley Mortuaries.
In 1959, the Nevada native was working for a neon sign company
when she designed a welcome sign that said "Welcome to Fabulous
Las Vegas Nevada" and cost $4,000 to construct.
The diamond-shaped sign with a spiky sun atop it has long been
popular with tourists, who come to pose for photos next to it on
the Las Vegas Strip near Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino. In 2009,
it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Over the years, Willis' landmark design has been reproduced in
the form of key chains, mugs, T-shirts, phone cases, welcome
mats, snow globes and numerous other pieces of merchandise.
She told the New York Times for an article published in 2005
that she would have liked to have seen some money off the
bonanza from her design, which was in the public domain.
"I should make a buck out of it," she told the paper. "Everybody
else is."
Despite the sign's enormous popularity, Willis also confessed to
the paper that she felt dissatisfied with the way the hand-drawn
lettering on the word "fabulous" looks. "I sweat blood when I
take a good hard look at it," she told the paper.
Also popular for their originality were signs Willis designed
for the Moulin Rouge Hotel and the Blue Angel Motel in Las
Vegas.
Willis is survived by her daughter, Marjorie Holland, and her
grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by
Mohammad Zargham)
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