A special bank account has been set up to collect donations for an artistic fund in Willa’s honor. Our first thought is to sponsor a local, emerging painter to use Willa’s Coffee hut as a canvas. It was always Willa’s vision to have the building painted periodically – every 6-12 months. Willa’s artistic friend, Viktoria Gokun, did an amazing first effort and set the stage for future artists.
We have already deposited many donations from friends and customers into this fund. If you are interested in contributing, you can give checks or cash directly to the family or stop by the coffee hut. Please make checks out to Willa Dock Memorial Fund. Funds can also be sent electronically to Stephanie for deposit in the account via PayPal (stephanie.dock@gmail.com) or Venmo (stephanie-dock). Contact Stephanie if you need details.
A celebration of Willa's life was held on February 18, 2018. Willa and her friends had a tradition of doing a brunch together on the weekends, although the brunch would actually start in the afternoons. The celebration included some of the her favorite foods (including her signature mushroom gravy), and tributes in word, dance, music, and video.
I met Willa when she was twelve years old, and we happened to be placed on the same soccer team in Minnesota. I'm fairly certain she found me slightly annoying at the time, but nonetheless, we had our weekly practices and weekly games, and I slowly got to know the long-legged spunky girl from another middle school who would eventually become one of my closest friends.
As we came into our teenage years and started attending the same high school, it turned out that we had a lot more in common than we had initially realized. We were in snowboard club together and took dance at the same studio; we both became fascinated with punk rock, art, statement clothing, and piercings. Willa, forever edgier than I, had gauged her ears and pierced her own eyebrow before we even had our driver's licenses. When we were old enough, we drove from Minneapolis to Chicago to visit her sister Steph, and daydreamed about our respective futures away from the suburb that never really left like home for either of us. And that's what we both did- her to study dance at UMKC, and I to New York to study film.
We talked over the phone or by text at least weekly for the ten years that followed. When the stars aligned for an audition in New York or a rendezvous in LA, we had our yearly or so meetups, always picking up right where we left off with such ease. There was one summer during college that she had gotten into the American Ballet Theater summer intensive program, and I got to see her perform at the ABT studios in New York City, featured like a prima ballerina in multiple pieces. To see her confidence in her ability combined with her hard work on display all at once was breathtaking. She certainly belonged on stage.
In more recent years, it was wonderful to watch Willa start to find her place in the world. To call her a jack of all trades would be an undersell, as that insinuates she was only mediocre at a lot of things. She was literally incredible at everything she touched. She could have been a professional ballerina, a fashion designer, an artist of any kind, an intellectual, a chef; the list goes on. In truth, she was all of these things. I think this was a difficult burden for her to carry at times. How do you pick the right path to walk when there are so many forks in the road?
My last in-person hangout with Willa was this past January at the Women's March in DC, where I got to spend a beautiful weekend with her and her sister flipping off Trump and having the ultimate weekend-long sleepover in which we barely slept a wink, fueled all weekend by wine, coffee, and deep conversation. Willa held all of my secrets, and I held all of hers. It feels like a daunting task to move continue forward without that person to call on when you just need to talk to someone who knows your entire history, but I must-we all must. Love you forever, Willa.
-Madeline McCarty
Hi, for those who don’t know me, my name is Natalie. I wanted a chance to say a few words about the lovely Willa we all cherished. I met Willa when I first moved to California in 2014, but it wasn’t until a couple years later when I moved to Los Angeles that we became inseparable. My first impression of her was that she was very relaxed, laid back, STYLISH, and a bit quiet until you got her comfortable with you.
I used to joke and say she was slow to warm, but once you were in, you were in with her. She really was the kind of person that accepted you flaws and all; she’d be there if you called on her for anything. She changed Los Angeles from a city to a home for me. I could count on her to be my plus one to any social gathering, or a companion to be lazy with, do nothing and still have the best time.
I am left with endless happy memories of times we shared. Including I don’t know how many late nights at House of Pies with a table full of food. Your warmth and kindness, the softness and loving friendship will always be prized. Our last weekend together we fell asleep watching the Golden Girls, and I just want to say: Thank You for being a friend Willa Jean Dock. Your heart was true, you’re a pal and a confidant.
I love you.
-Natalie Steen
As I have been thinking about what to say today, I realized it’s actually rather hard to explain your sibling to the rest of the world. We in many ways were not alike – I am obviously not the 6’ tall dancer she was and unlike me, she didn’t find spreadsheets soothing. But as I started thinking about that, and her, and how to give proper due to this person that has been so central to my life, I realized that the differences between us are in many ways what defined us individually and what made her such an amazing presence in my life.
Take this blue hair here. Until a week ago, I had never dyed my hair. Willa went through an impressive range of shades over the years, including a memorable incident that turned our shared bathroom purple. Without Willa as an explanation, I think everyone would have thought I had lost my marbles when I dyed my hair. Willa, on the other hand, was not in the least concerned about what you might think of her hair color choice. But she was fearless in that, rebellious even, and often questioned why society’s expectations should matter. I’d think about what my office would think of my hidden hint of blue, she’d say that they need to take you as you are.
That insistence on being true to herself flowed over into other areas – she was a keen observer of the world around her and while she often turned a dark humor towards it, she also cared. Willa became a vegetarian because she worried about cruelty to animals, not because she didn’t love steak. She had recently gotten into feminist theory and we had some great discussions about the patriarchy and how to fight that and also still function in society so we wouldn’t go totally insane. I would like to think we shared a concern for a better world, though again, she was the more expansive one. She was not interested in doing things because she was “supposed to” or making her views felt quietly when she felt strongly.
Willa was a creative genius. What she put together in one night far outdid what I might take weeks to work on. We had the same pottery teacher in high school and she remembers us for very different reasons. I, the overachieving senior, found some obscure fact about how Egyptians threw pottery. Willa, on the other hand, was obviously good at this and went on to win awards and get a 5 in AP Pottery. She created all the amazing pots you see here. Ceramics was hardly the only area of creative endeavors: dancing, sewing, piano, drawing, origami and paper arts; whatever she turned her attention to was beautiful.
And it goes almost without saying that there was only one half of the Dock sisters with any sense of style. No mention of Willa is complete without noting that she was stylish from the start. From plans for a purple fur coat when she was small, she always knew what to wear. Her skills as a seamstress added options and more than a couple dance costumes. I can confidently say that the primary reason I am well dressed is generally because Willa helped me pick out whatever I was wearing – or in the case of today, wearing what she made me. Mom and I are both going to really miss having Willa’s style advice on speed dial.
These differences in our personalities did result in some distance between us in our teenage years, but the things we shared did outweigh the differences, particularly as we got older. A few years ago, we took a sisters’ vacation to hang out in an Airstream trailer together. We had a blast and even got our nails done – years after I had thoroughly mocked her for wanting to get a manicure. Happily, after her teenage rejection of the outdoors, she had come to love hiking and camping in the past few years. She joined Matt and me on a backpacking trip after our wedding and we were plotting future adventures in the Boundary Waters and beyond.
I have always told stories about my creative, striking, eclectic ‘Willa Bean’ and I will keep doing so, because I will forever be in awe and so proud of everything she did and the woman she had become.
-Stephanie Dock
Willa's Mushroom Gravy
Saute garlic and onion in butter then add mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are golden and soft, move them to the outer edges of the pan. Add flour to the butter in the center of the pan and cook until the flour is fully absorbed and browned. Add salt and pepper. Slowly add the water and soy sauce; whisk together until the texture is gravy. Enjoy!
Butternut Squash Risotto
Put the squash on a baking tray and sprinkle with salt and 2 tbsp olive oil. Roast in a preheated oven at 400 for 30 minutes until tender.
Put the butter, remaining 2 tbsp olive oil, and garlic in a medium saucepan. Cook gently for 2 minutes, then add the oregano, sage, and rice.
Let the rice absorb the buttery juices, then stir in a ladle of the hot stock. Wait until the stock has been absorbed, then add the wine and the rest of the stock, a ladle at a time, making sure it has been completely absorbed between each addition.
Stir in the squash and lightly mash with the back of a fork, leaving some pieces whole. Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with a generous spoonful of marscapone.