Billie was born in a small town in Kentucky on December 9, 1944. Her mother owned her own bakery and later, a small diner.  At 8 years of age, Billie started working for her mother in her bakery and then at the diner.  She and her mother moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to be with her aunt and cousins, when Billie was 8. Billie finished her high school there. After high school, Billie enlisted in the United States Army, but was discharged after 8 months because they found out she was a lesbian.  After getting a scholarship, she attended nursing school.  Although Billie was a very good student, the school was uncomfortable with her being a lesbian, and she was asked to leave the school..

Billie began working as a medical tech in a Cleveland hospital, as a 19 year old. She worked there four years. When Billie was offered a tech job at St. Francis Hospital, she moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and worked there for 32 years, first as a tech, then as a secretary.  At 62, Billie retired and moved to Tunica, Mississippi, to be near friends. There she met Kristi Green and they began dating in December 2007. They married on September 19, 2009, in a church, and then legally married again in 2014.  Her married life was one of her high points of her life. Their love was deep and she had never loved like that before.

Billie was 73 on her last birthday, December 9th.   She and Kristi had celebrated ten years of being soul mates on December 1st. Billie died at home on December 14, 2107. Her wife Kristi found her and took great care to honor Billie's wishes. She will be greatly missed.

A Memorial Service will be Wednesday, December 20, 2017, 1:00 p.m., at Fitzgerald Ivy Chapel, 14th and South Boulder Avenue, in Tulsa.


FITZGERALD IVY CHAPEL, 918-585-1151