Billie N. Byrd (Tulia)

Tulia, Texas—Billie N. Byrd, 89, died Monday, August 13, 2012. Funeral services will be held at 4:00 pm Thursday, August 16, 2012 at the J.W. Byrd Home Place, 12 miles east of I-27 on FM 285, (17001 East FM 285), Happy, TX with Loren Quick, Westin Price and Silas Garten officiating. Burial will follow in Wayside Cemetery under the care of Kornerstone Funeral Directors of Tulia. Mrs. Byrd was born May 12, 1923 in Lubbock to Henry and Edith Harral. She was raised in Abernathy and Wayside, Texas. After graduating from Wayside School in 1940 she attended West Texas State College in Canyon. On August 25, 1941 she and Wylie Byrd were married. He preceded her in death on July 1, 2006. Her sister, Wanda Wharton also preceded her in death. They farmed, raised their children and began Roll-A-Cone Manufacturing and Distributing Company, building farm equipment on the same section northeast of Tulia all of their lives. Billie was instrumental in the success of the business. Her voice was known to many as “Mrs. Byrd”, as she always answered the phone and identified herself. She continued to work until March of this year. She is survived by her children, Freva and Don Adams, Dan and Pat Byrd, Joe and Julie Byrd, Wyla and Ed Miller, Kylene and Ron Miller and Dera and Paul Rousseau, all of Tulia. She is also survived by 23 grandchildren, 42 great grandchildren and two great, great granddaughters; and her brother, Malcolm Harral of Roswell, NM. We wish to express special appreciation for her caregivers, Lucy Trevino, Myra Castro and Shonda, April, Cindy, Laurie, Melanie, Sherry and Sandra with Area Community Hospice. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wayside Cemetery, PO Box 155, Wayside, TX 79094 or to the Area Community Hospice, 3109-C Olton Rd., Plainview, Texas 79072.