Billy Joe Billiard

Billy Joe Billiard, 94, of Charlotte, North Carolina, formerly longtime resident of Mulberry, Kansas, died at 4:05 A.M. Saturday December 20, 2025, at Brookdale Carriage Club in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mr. Billiard was born December 11, 1931, at Burgess, Missouri, the son of Joseph and Mayme Caroline Leksha Billiard. B.J. was a teacher, coach, Superintendent and Principal at Mulberry, Arcadia, and Northeast USD #246 from 1952-1992. He graduated from Mulberry High School. He later attended Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, where he played basketball, then Pittsburg State University at Pittsburg, Kansas, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees. He served in the US Army during the Korean War as a Corporal at Camp Crowder, Missouri. He married Patricia Ann Wilson on September 4, 1954, at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Arma, Kansas. Mrs. Billiard preceded him in death November 16, 2025. He was a member of St. Gabriel Catholic Church at Mulberry, Kansas (until it closed), St. Joseph Catholic Church at Arma, Kansas, St. Matthew Catholic Church at Charlotte, North Carolina, the S.N.P.J. Lodge #225 at Arma, Kansas, the American Legion Post #176 at Mulberry, Kansas, KPERS, and the Mulberry Senior Citizens' Committee for 30 years of service. Survivors include a son, Jody Billiard (wife, Jennifer McCaskill Billiard), Matthews, North Carolina, grandchildren, Hannah Billiard, Jackson, Mississippi, Sarah Billiard Blakely (husband, Drew Blakely), Wilmington, North Carolina, David Billiard (fiancé, Kara Schmit), Matthews, North Carolina, Benjamin Billiard (MaKayla Mabry Billiard), Lynchburg, Virginia, and Mario Montes (Tegucigalpa, Honduras), and sister-in-law, Mary Sue "Marilyn" Cowan, rural Mulberry, Kansas. He was preceded in death by his wife, Patricia Ann Wilson Billiard, parents, Joseph and Mayme Billiard, and sister, Betty Louise Karlinger.

Memorial Mass of Christian Burial for B.J. and Patricia Billiard will be at 2 P.M. Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at St. Joseph Catholic Church at Arma, Kansas, with Father Daniel Vacca as the Celebrant. Burial of the cremains will be at the Pittsburg Garden of Memories Cemetery following the mass. The family suggests memorials to Mulberry Funeral Dinner Fund or St. Joseph Catholic Church. Donations may be sent to or left at the Bedene Funeral Home, 517 E. Washington, Box 621, Arma, Kansas 66712.