Billy Willard

    Billy Gene Willard was born Monday, October 7, 1929, in a little house by the side of Hughes Road between Hughes and LeFlore, Oklahoma.  His parents were Benjamin Wesley Willard and Johnnie Margaret Brooks, and Papa was one of five children that included Emma Lou, J.W., Ben, and David.  They made their living farming the bottom lands of the creeks that surround LeFlore and hunting everything in the woods, most notably rabbits and squirrels.

     In spite of a difficult childhood--after all, the man was born three weeks before the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression--the stories he shared made it seem like they never knew how bad the times really were.  There were stories of swimming in Long Creek, running down the hill from their home toward the creek, stripping off clothing as they went and watching their young cousin, Cecil Jr., step gingerly behind them because he didn’t want to get his clothes dirty.  Together with his cousin Philip, they teamed up to wreak havoc on the squirrel population of LeFlore County, and one time he and his brother Ben even bagged a mink, which brought in a haul of fifteen dollars (Blake still has the gun that brought home the mink).  He left school at 16 and went to work at various jobs including pouring sidewalks with his brother-in-law all over Michigan and picking cotton and vegetables all over the country as a migrant worker..  He later obtained his GED, joined the Air Force fueling planes in Texas, serving as a cook stationed in Goose Bay, Canada, and went to college on the G.I. Bill, earning bachelors and masters degrees.

     His greatest legacy, though, was the one he built with his wife, Dora, who always went by Dory, Aunt Dory, or Meemaw.  They married on March 5, 1955, and enjoyed 64 years together until she passed on November 16 last year.  They had only one child, but together with Holli they made homes all over Oklahoma as he taught in various schools before settling in Red Oak.  They had three grandchildren--Kerry, Blake, and Jill--and they gave them all the room they wanted to explore and play on their home place on the hill in Red Oak.  There they tended a garden, built furniture and toys in Papa’s woodshop, and even raced a Shetland pony around a “racetrack” Papa mowed for them around the pasture.

     After 91 years spent as a husband, father, grandfather, teacher, and expert in almost every subject, Papa stepped into eternity with Jesus on Tuesday, November 3, 2020.  He is survived by his daughter, Holli, and her husband Leslie of Red Oak; grandchildren Kerry and his wife Cassie of Red Oak, Blake and his wife Tori of Poteau; and Jill of Red Oak.  He is also survived by seven great-grandchildren:  Maci, Hayden, Deacon, Layni, Averi, Ainslee, and Emma, as well as sisters-in-law Barbara Austin of Georgetown, Texas, and Juanita Ward of LeFlore, Oklahoma, and countless nieces and nephews scattered throughout the United States.

     Services will be held at Red Oak First Baptist Church on Friday, November 6, at 2 pm with a graveside service to follow at Oakland Cemetery in Poteau, Oklahoma.  Viewing for family and friends will be Thursday, November 5, from 6-8 pm at Evans-Miller Funeral Home in Poteau.

     In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the youth group of Red Oak First Baptist Church and/or the Special Olympics of Poteau at Arvest Bank under the account Team Poteau.