Willy was born in the Netherlands; her family migrated to Australia in 1956, living in Melbourne for ten years before moving to Brisbane. She was educated at St Rita's College. She has been married to Jim for over 53 years, with four sons, three granddaughters and one grandson.
Club and administration
Willy joined Windsor Croquet Club in 1993, starting in Association Croquet before Golf Croquet existed at the club. At Windsor she has served as Club Captain, President and Secretary, and has been an Association Referee since 1998, appointed Senior AC Referee in 2018, and is a Level 3 Association Coach.
At CAQ level she has been secretary to the Events Committee, BNR delegate to CAQ, secretary for BNR, and Windsor's delegate to BNR, followed by three years as State secretary, three years as State coaching coordinator, and her current role as State Association Code Coordinator. In 2023 she was awarded Life Membership of Windsor Croquet Club.
Playing career
Willy has competed successfully in Association and Golf Croquet at local, regional and state level over three decades, including CAQ Division 3 Association Medal (1996), CAQ Open Doubles wins (1998, 2018), a CAQ Silver Medal (2002), CAQ Ladies Singles Divisions 1 and 2 (2004), Gold Coast Ladies Open (2006), and CAQ Women's Singles (2018). Since 2001 she has been a Queensland State Association Team member 16 times as a player, three times as reserve, and three times as Captain, and was a Queensland Golf Croquet team player in 2010. She won Queensland Player of the Series for Association in 2012 and 2018, and for Golf in 2010, and was selected to the National Development Squad for 2023-24.
At Windsor she has won the Association Doubles (2003, 2007, 2009), Div 2 Singles (1998), Open Championship (1997, 2017), Hilda Jolly (1995, 1996), Div 4 Singles (1995), and the Open Association and Golf Championships (2016).
Of Willy, Windsor Croquet Club says: "Willy Silk's croquet career is a testimony to someone who thrives by giving 100% and more. This is whether she is playing both golf and association croquet exceptionally well, by winning and being runner-up at many tournaments, or by coaching with a very high level of qualification so others can benefit, or by giving back to the organisation by taking on roles in its administration allowing the game to continue to prosper" (28 November 2023).
Willy continues to contribute to the sport at club and state level, most recently as Manager of the 2024 State Association Team.