Billy Lee Oliver, son of the late William Oliver and Stella Hunsaker Oliver, was born on June 3, 1924, in Dexter, Missouri and departed this life on July 17, 2021, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri at the age of 97.
Billy was a child of sharecroppers who worked the cotton fields of Southeast Missouri during the depression years. He could recall a time when there was nothing but virgin forests between Dexter and Poplar Bluff. In 1930, he was an eye witness to the falling of the Paragould meteorite, the second largest meteorite ever recovered in North America. Billy worked from the time he was ten years old. During World War II he began working at Elder Manufacturing Company in Dexter. He remained at that job for 45 years. As a member of the local union, he once served as sergeant at arms for Ted Kennedy. In his later years, he often delivered cars for the Autry Morlan car dealership. He always had a story to share, and he never lost his sense of humor.
Billy was united in marriage on September 15, 1950, to Thelma Idabel Oliver in Piggott, Arkansas.
Billy and Thelma enjoyed 65 happy years together before she preceded him in death on October 6, 2015, at the age of 91 years.
Billy was a Christian and a baptized believer in Jesus Christ. He was a long-time member of the Dexter Church of Christ.
Billy is survived by his only child, Vicki Hopgood and her husband Terry of Rolla, Missouri; by two grandchildren, Aaron Hopgood of Rolla, Missouri and Allison Rogerson and her husband, Christian, of Rolla Missouri; by six great-grandchildren, Grace Rogerson, Noah Rogerson, Jackson Rogerson, Cooper Rogerson, William Rogerson, and Samuel Rogerson.
Besides his parents and wife, Billy was preceded in death by three brothers, Sylvester Oliver, Raymond Oliver, and William Oliver Junior; and by two sisters, Nina Boone and Rita Humes.
Friends may call at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. in the Mathis Funeral Chapel immediately following the visitation. Clyde Jacques, from the Dexter Church of Christ, will be officiating. Interment will follow in the Essex Cemetery in Essex, Missouri.
Memorials may be made to the Paragould Children's Home, 5515 Walcott Road, Paragould, Arkansas 72450 or Little Prairie Bible Camp, PO Box 251, Rolla, Missouri 65402.
Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.
Billy was a child of sharecroppers who worked the cotton fields of Southeast Missouri during the depression years. He could recall a time when there was nothing but virgin forests between Dexter and Poplar Bluff. In 1930, he was an eye witness to the falling of the Paragould meteorite, the second largest meteorite ever recovered in North America. Billy worked from the time he was ten years old. During World War II he began working at Elder Manufacturing Company in Dexter. He remained at that job for 45 years. As a member of the local union, he once served as sergeant at arms for Ted Kennedy. In his later years, he often delivered cars for the Autry Morlan car dealership. He always had a story to share, and he never lost his sense of humor.
Billy was united in marriage on September 15, 1950, to Thelma Idabel Oliver in Piggott, Arkansas.
Billy and Thelma enjoyed 65 happy years together before she preceded him in death on October 6, 2015, at the age of 91 years.
Billy was a Christian and a baptized believer in Jesus Christ. He was a long-time member of the Dexter Church of Christ.
Billy is survived by his only child, Vicki Hopgood and her husband Terry of Rolla, Missouri; by two grandchildren, Aaron Hopgood of Rolla, Missouri and Allison Rogerson and her husband, Christian, of Rolla Missouri; by six great-grandchildren, Grace Rogerson, Noah Rogerson, Jackson Rogerson, Cooper Rogerson, William Rogerson, and Samuel Rogerson.
Besides his parents and wife, Billy was preceded in death by three brothers, Sylvester Oliver, Raymond Oliver, and William Oliver Junior; and by two sisters, Nina Boone and Rita Humes.
Friends may call at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. in the Mathis Funeral Chapel immediately following the visitation. Clyde Jacques, from the Dexter Church of Christ, will be officiating. Interment will follow in the Essex Cemetery in Essex, Missouri.
Memorials may be made to the Paragould Children's Home, 5515 Walcott Road, Paragould, Arkansas 72450 or Little Prairie Bible Camp, PO Box 251, Rolla, Missouri 65402.
Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.
Billy Lee Oliver, son of the late William Oliver and Stella Hunsaker Oliver, was born on June 3, 1924, in Dexter, Missouri and departed this life on July 17, 2021, at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri at the age of 97.
Billy was a child of sharecroppers who worked the cotton fields of Southeast Missouri during the depression years. He could recall a time when there was nothing but virgin forests between Dexter and Poplar Bluff. In 1930, he was an eye witness to the falling of the Paragould meteorite, the second largest meteorite ever recovered in North America. Billy worked from the time he was ten years old. During World War II he began working at Elder Manufacturing Company in Dexter. He remained at that job for 45 years. As a member of the local union, he once served as sergeant at arms for Ted Kennedy. In his later years, he often delivered cars for the Autry Morlan car dealership. He always had a story to share, and he never lost his sense of humor.
Billy was united in marriage on September 15, 1950, to Thelma Idabel Oliver in Piggott, Arkansas.
Billy and Thelma enjoyed 65 happy years together before she preceded him in death on October 6, 2015, at the age of 91 years.
Billy was a Christian and a baptized believer in Jesus Christ. He was a long-time member of the Dexter Church of Christ.
Billy is survived by his only child, Vicki Hopgood and her husband Terry of Rolla, Missouri; by two grandchildren, Aaron Hopgood of Rolla, Missouri and Allison Rogerson and her husband, Christian, of Rolla Missouri; by six great-grandchildren, Grace Rogerson, Noah Rogerson, Jackson Rogerson, Cooper Rogerson, William Rogerson, and Samuel Rogerson.
Besides his parents and wife, Billy was preceded in death by three brothers, Sylvester Oliver, Raymond Oliver, and William Oliver Junior; and by two sisters, Nina Boone and Rita Humes.
Friends may call at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. in the Mathis Funeral Chapel immediately following the visitation. Clyde Jacques, from the Dexter Church of Christ, will be officiating. Interment will follow in the Essex Cemetery in Essex, Missouri.
Memorials may be made to the Paragould Children's Home, 5515 Walcott Road, Paragould, Arkansas 72450 or Little Prairie Bible Camp, PO Box 251, Rolla, Missouri 65402.
Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.
Billy was a child of sharecroppers who worked the cotton fields of Southeast Missouri during the depression years. He could recall a time when there was nothing but virgin forests between Dexter and Poplar Bluff. In 1930, he was an eye witness to the falling of the Paragould meteorite, the second largest meteorite ever recovered in North America. Billy worked from the time he was ten years old. During World War II he began working at Elder Manufacturing Company in Dexter. He remained at that job for 45 years. As a member of the local union, he once served as sergeant at arms for Ted Kennedy. In his later years, he often delivered cars for the Autry Morlan car dealership. He always had a story to share, and he never lost his sense of humor.
Billy was united in marriage on September 15, 1950, to Thelma Idabel Oliver in Piggott, Arkansas.
Billy and Thelma enjoyed 65 happy years together before she preceded him in death on October 6, 2015, at the age of 91 years.
Billy was a Christian and a baptized believer in Jesus Christ. He was a long-time member of the Dexter Church of Christ.
Billy is survived by his only child, Vicki Hopgood and her husband Terry of Rolla, Missouri; by two grandchildren, Aaron Hopgood of Rolla, Missouri and Allison Rogerson and her husband, Christian, of Rolla Missouri; by six great-grandchildren, Grace Rogerson, Noah Rogerson, Jackson Rogerson, Cooper Rogerson, William Rogerson, and Samuel Rogerson.
Besides his parents and wife, Billy was preceded in death by three brothers, Sylvester Oliver, Raymond Oliver, and William Oliver Junior; and by two sisters, Nina Boone and Rita Humes.
Friends may call at Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. in the Mathis Funeral Chapel immediately following the visitation. Clyde Jacques, from the Dexter Church of Christ, will be officiating. Interment will follow in the Essex Cemetery in Essex, Missouri.
Memorials may be made to the Paragould Children's Home, 5515 Walcott Road, Paragould, Arkansas 72450 or Little Prairie Bible Camp, PO Box 251, Rolla, Missouri 65402.
Mathis Funeral Home in Dexter is assisting with arrangements.
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