Billy Helton

Dad,
I honor your service to our country in the cause of Liberty. I can not imagine how my contribution could come close to what you did.

Love and Respect,
Clint

p.s. I so wished that you could have been here to see the Rangers play in their first World Series. I know that you would have been thrilled!

Hey, Daddy! Today would have been your 77th Birthday! Tomorrow is thanksgiving and I am going to make some deviled eggs in honor of you, I do it every year, wishing you were still here to eat some. I don't enjoy the holidays anymore, but I'm trying to keep my head up and go on with it. Mom is real upset about her sister being on her death bed. I wish I could get her up there to see her before she goes. She misses you so very much!! We all do!!! Happy Birthday and Happy Thanksgiving, too!!!! Love You so Much!! Missy!

Daddy, I miss you very much!!! The world just dosen't seem the same without you. Mr. Jones passed recently and I know he is rejoysing in Heaven with you. I think about you everyday and I look forward to seeing you when it's my time to go. I talk about you all the time because I want people to know and never forget what a GREAT man you are!! I was truely BLESSED to have you as my Daddy, you taught me alot. I am finding out that I am ALOT like you, now that you are gone, and I am so proud of that. My life has forever changed since you left us. For the rest of my life I will strive to be the upstanding person that you are and for the first time in my life things are going good for me, responsibility wise and finacially wise, just how you taught me. I LOVE you so very much and you have forever changed the way I think about my life and my belief in GOD. Love your little Missy!

My husband started working with Bill in 1962 and when I first met Christine, she came over pulling Donna in a little wagon. We became instant friends and remained friends all these years. We baby sat each others kids, went on vacations together. and had many good times. Bill could fix anything, he kept our cars, washers, driers, and you name it going. Both of our families moved several times through jobs, but we always managed to visit each other through the years. Bill could help with about anything, he always kept us informed about insurance and all that stuff through work. He would spend hours reading all the fine points. He did this up to the time of his death. He helped me so much when Ken died. He told me all the steps to go through. My kids looked upon Bill and Christine as their second parents because they were always there for them. We will miss him very much.

Iam so sorry to hear of the lost of your father and beloved husband. I know of Billy Helton through his daughter Anita. He was a very caring loving and giving man. He had a heart of gold. My prayers are with all of you.

Billy Ray Helton was my father-in-law. He was a man of few words but his eyes reflected his sensitive heart. He seemed like a gentle giant of a man with an undergirding strength that seemed to uphold others, which transcended words.



My husband and I went through a very trying couple of years of unemployment that nearly outdid us. One Thanksgiving during that trying time we popped by to visit at Grandma and Grandpa Helton's with our 3 boys. His eyes lit up when he saw his grandsons. He uncharacteristically became very social, sharing readily about his Cherokee Indian heritage. I felt his appreciation for seeing us, even though words weren't directly expressed. That Christmas we received a note in the mail with a very generous check, as his gesture to help us in our trial. Tears welled in my eyes as I felt the "fatherly" provision that he shared with us--a provision that didn't come without sacrifice. I regret that I didn't know him more, but do look forward to visiting more completely with him one day on the other side of heaven.

I am a childhood friend of Teresa's. My twin sister, Karen, just learned about the loss of your father/husband and shared the sad news with me. It is so hard to imagine your family without the presence of your father. I will never forget your father, even though it has been at least 35 or 40 years since I last remember seeing him. My hope for your family is that your sadness will be replaced with loving and happy memories of Mr. Helton.

I would like to express my deepest sympathies to Christine and the entire Helton family in their time of sorrow. As a childhood friend of Terry (Teresa), I remember Mr. Helton as a quiet, stoic family man. He was a good and loving Dad. You will carry him in your heart always.

My grandpa was a serious strong man. I never saw him loose his cool or blow his top. He had a poker face on at all times. He seemed like the type to kill you with silence. I remeber when he and my dad built me and my friends a quarter pipe skateboard ramp. I don't think he liked seing it much after while. It was quite the eye soar sticking out like a soar thumb in a good neiborhood, but he let us skate on it untill we lost interest. I remember him being able to tell what was wrong with a car just by listening to it. He could have been blind folded and still he knew exactly what the problem was. I was always impressed by that. I regret not knowing grandpa closely, but anyone that knows me knows that I share some of his characteristics. He will not soon be forgotten. I loved Billy Ray Helton, but to me he was just Grandpa.

I am the youngest daughter of Billy Ray Helton. My daddy is by far the greatest man I have ever known. I feel the need to write some of my memories of him to share with you, so enjoy! He always had all the right answers to my problems, questions or if I needed something fixed. I will miss calling him at home or on his cell phone when I am in need of his guidance. My daddy was a man of few words, unless he was telling a joke (he loves a good joke) or telling one of his stories of something that he had experienced in life, but when he did speak he was straight and to the point. When I was a little girl I used to watch him sleeping in his recliner because his lips would flap together and make a funny noise when he snored (ha,ha!) and I would giggle quietly every time. Everyday after school me and my friends would be playing outside and I would see daddy's old blue, beat up Buick pull up in the driveway and I would run saying "MY Daddys Home, My Daddys Home!!" He would pick me up and say "Hey Missy" and give me a kiss and I would stick my hand in his shirt pocket for a peice of juicy fruit chewing gum. I always loved watching him work on his car and sometimes he would let me help him with little things like cleaning a part, holding something for him or bleeding the brakes. Daddy would take 3 weeks off every summer and pile us all up in the old green stationwagon for the longest road trip of our lives! We would go from Arizona to New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, stopping at all the tourist attractions on the way to visiting family and friends, what a wonderfull time we had! When we were at home we would get to go to the top of Mount Lemon were we lived right at the foothills of the mountain in Tucson, AZ. There is a ski lodge there and lots of snow, daddy would always let us ride the ski lift and he and momma would sit in the lodge while we played all day in the snow. At the end of the day we would sit in front of the giant fireplace and drink hot chocolate, it was the best time of our lives. Daddy took us to some of the most beautiful places in the south and I thank him for that! He loved to play practical jokes on us when ever he could, especially on holloween, he would laugh so hard when he got you good and boy did he ever get all of us good at one point or another! (ha,ha!). It was always a good feeling to see daddy laugh and enjoy himself, (after the initial shock of the prank!! HA,HA!!). I will miss sitting outside with him and Mr. Jones, his neighbor and dear friend of 30 yrs., just talking and laughing. I will miss cooking for my daddy, he loves my cooking just as much as I love cooking for him. He would come in the kitchen and ask if it was time to eat, he would say " I'm so hungry I'm going to have to be spoon fed" (ha,ha!). Some of his favorite foods were any kind of beans (except lima beans) with cornbread, buttermilk with cornbread or crackers, peanutbutter and bologna sandwiches, bologna, bologna and more bologna(ha,ha!), deviled eggs, pecan pie, peanut brittle, any kind of nuts and bananas were his favorite fruit. Yes, growing up and having a daddy like Billy Ray Helton was truly a joy and an honor. He will be greatly missed by all of us, but never forgotten!! See you in my dreams, my daddy!! I love you so much!!!!!

Anita

I have always been proud to call Billy Ray Helton my dad. He was,and remains, bigger than life to me. He came from a humble background, worked hard while winning friends and career relationships, while striving to always give his family a better life. In our childhood years we traveled together in summers and visited family. He would go out of the way to take us to notable places. We had sandwiches in an automat in Manhattan one time and visited China Town in San Francisco another. And we saw just about everything in between. One time we were leaving for a trip to see family in Tennessee, with all five of us kids in close quarters and fussing before getting out of the driveway. I asked dad if he would be glad when the day's trip was over. He answered seriously, but cheerfully that "no I won't be glad - half the fun is getting there." That seemed to be his life's motto. My dad was a great man, who I thought should be President when I was little, but he chose and loved simple things in life. He loved family most of all.

My regards to the Helton Family. I have known the Helton's for 20+ years. Mr Helton, I am sure, will be very missed by his family and friends. I will continue to pray that his family finds the strength to carry on during this very difficult time.

To the Helton family I extend my sincere sympathy. I worked for Bill and with him for several years in Quality Assurance at the GD AFPRO. Bill was always "the good guy" liked by everyone, co-workers and contractor. He was good at what he did and always did his best. Bill, we will miss you

It has been a very long time since my family met Bill in Tucson, but he proved than what a good friend he would become to our family. He will be surely missed.

All,

Some of you already know, but for those who haven't yet heard, my Dad, Billy Ray Helton, passed away Tuesday morning. He was a great man who seemed to always put others before himself. My Dad was a faithful and steadfast provider for his family and touched so many lives. He was a "glue" type of person that wasn't always out in front, but provided the undergirding framework that held people together - a heart-and-soul kind of man. My Dad could get things done - make things happen. He always seemed to know what to do and when to do it. We always felt like Dad was a source of strength and a calming force in the midst of trying times. Not only that, but Dad was a patriot who courageously fought for his country by serving in the Air Force in Korea. He was a flight engineer on various aircraft and saw heavy combat: shot down twice in B-29s, having to bail out of a burning airplane at night over enemy territory and make his way back to friendly troops, weaving through anti-aircraft tracer streams in low-altitude B-26 ground attacks, manning defensive machine gun posts when wounded gunners could no longer fight. He served in the Air Force for several years after the war, once having to crash land a B-25 Mitchell into the Gulf of Mexico. Many times I have considered everything that he has been through and thanked God for protecting him. After all, it would have been so easy for him to perish, and I and my family would have never been...



Suddenly I feel the need to say more about my Dad, but before I go on, here are the details of his funeral arrangements:



Friday, 1/6/2006, public viewing from 6pm to 8pm at:



Moore Funeral Home

1219 North Davis Drive

Arlington, TX 76012



phone#: 817-275-2711



Google Map Link>>> Moore Funeral Home



Saturday, 1/7/2006, memorial service starting 12:30pm, again, at Moore



Monday, 1/9/2006, burial service starting 12:30pm at:



Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery

2000 Mountain Creek Parkway

Dallas , TX 75211



Phone#: 214-467-3374



Link>>> DFW National Cemetery



Note: Being military, DFW Cemetery is fairly strict about starting times. We were told that they'll start at 12:30pm and that late comers will not be able to get access to the ceremony site.



We wanted to have the burial the same day as the memorial service, but the cemetery does not conduct burials on weekends.



I'm helping my Mom by going through my Dad's papers. I am shocked by how meticulous he was about record keeping. It seems that every transaction, receipt, and manual has been documented and filed. Dad was a tool maven whose motto seemed to be, "Why rent when you can buy?" :) I'm finding some really oddball and special purpose tools in his garage. I've seen my Dad take an engine out of a car, tear it all the way down, rebuild and reinstall it. He started on a Friday afternoon, and by late Sunday, it was back in the car and running! It was child's play for him.



If I had to summarize my Dad in one word it would be "family". Everything he thought, said or did was in that context. Billy Ray was always loyal to his family and put it before anything. Almost every weekend was spent driving out of town to visit family. In those days, a lot of our relatives didn't have telephones, nor did we have the money to call long distance. So many times, I remember us driving a couple of hours to someone's house in the country. I can still see my Dad leaving us in the car while he walked to the front door to knock. Sometimes, after a few seconds of waiting, he would wave for us to come on in. If no one answered, he would turn and walk back to the car. We would then drive to the next house and so on, until someone would answer. There were times when nobody we tried was home and we'd drive back to Arlington, but he would always faithfully try to visit.



I do regret not trying to know my Dad better and spend more time with him. Both of us did try at times, but it just never seemed to work out, and I do believe that this feeling was mutual between my Dad and me. The truth is that my Dad and I were drastically different from each other - not one better than the other but just "different". In the last year or so, we had some conversations in which we more or less reconciled with each other - not that we were enemies. It was more like we were strangers to each other. It's interesting: I've never seen myself as being like my Dad, but the older I get, the more understanding I have about his personality and choices - and the more of him I see in myself!



My Dad was unsure about his salvation, but a couple of weeks ago, I was able to pray with him - for the first time in my life - and he did indeed call on Christ to save him! My understanding is that in his last day or two, he asked my Mom to read him some scripture and I was able to read scripture to him just a few minutes before his death. My family and I are confident of his eternal life with the Lord and that we'll be with him forever in the next life!



Truly, Billy Ray Helton was unique. He meant so much to so many. For the last ten years, he drove the big rigs from Fort Worth to Colorado for Ryder. Apparently, my Dad was quite the comedian and practical joker. Using his CB radio, he kept the truckers laughing up and down the Interstates and highways. I saw hints of that, but never the full dose. I'm looking forward to getting to know that side of him, and the complete and perfect Billy Ray that God made him to be: "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV)



In loving memory of my, Dad...

Clint

It has been a long time, Bill will be missed by all his friends. Tom Arenson

Bill, Over the last 10 year at Ryder, I found you to be a thoughtful, caring person. You were always the first to offer help when any one needed it. You stopped on the side of the road in rain, snow and ice to help your fellow driver(s). You helped me many times over the years. I never heard a discouraging word spoke of you. I know you are in a better place now Bill. May the Peace of the Lord be will you, ALWAYS!!