Billy Ray Dollar, Sr.

Billy Ray Dollar, Sr. was born on January 5, 1943 in Yarnaby, Oklahoma, the youngest child of Eugene Lee and Wyoma Wesberry Dollar. Although he would go on to have many successes in life, Bill would probably consider his greatest achievement being married to the love of his life, Carol Whitson Dollar, for 53 years.

Bill started working for the Wichita Falls Times-Record News in his teens and developed a passion for the printing business. He would go on to work for Nortex Press and become a partner there in 1969. After Nortex was sold ten years later, Bill worked for St. Regis Paper Company as a consultant until he decided to settle at Lake Kiowa and start his own printing business in Gainesville, Texas. In May of 1983, the first job rolled off the presses at Texoma Web Offset. His wife Carol, son Billy Ray, and daughter-in-law Mary Jo joined forces to make Texoma Web one of the largest employers in Gainesville, Texas through the early 2000s.

Bill had a genuine love for the game of golf and was an avid golfer from his early 20s. When he wasn’t working, he could usually be found on the links. He and Carol also loved traveling and spent much time in England, Ireland, and Hawaii, as well as regular road trips in their minivan to Las Vegas, sleeping on a mattress in the back beneath the stars.

Bill was a real character who lived life on his own terms. Everyone who knows him has at least one or two “Bill” stories. He loved to recount tales of his childhood, often involving taking a nap behind the school or the day off to go on unauthorized “field trips” to one of the surrounding towns.

Bill Dollar is proudly survived by his son, Billy Ray Dollar, Jr., and his wife, Mary Jo Dollar, of Gainesville; their children, Natalie Rae Dollar and her husband, Arjan Stoop, of Gainesville, and Charles Dollar and his wife, Audrina, and their two sons, Atticus and Silas, of Indiana; his daughter, Alison Dollar Weinberg, and her husband, Robert Weinberg, of Dallas; their children, Whitson Weinberg and his wife, Caroline, and Wells Weinberg; and his son, Lee Whitson Dollar, and his wife, Dana Dollar, of Denton; their children, Alexi Dollar and Liam Dollar and his wife, Caitlin. Bill will be lovingly remembered by his family—especially his grandchildren—as Papaw Bill, whose fun spirit and big personality filled every room.

Bill’s family will have a private celebration of life at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to VISTO of Cooke County https://www.vistohelps.com. Please share one of your “Bill” stories in the online guestbook.