Billy Joe Henry 1926 – 2015

Billy Joe Henry of Keller took a walk with the Lord on the morning of Monday, March 9, 2015, and he decided to just keep on walking. When he said good-by, Joe was 88. {{more}}

 

Funeral: 11 a.m. Monday, March 16, at Lucas Funeral Home, 1321 Precinct Line Road in Hurst. Interment will follow in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery with military honors. Visitation: The family will receive friends 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.

 

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project online at woundedwarriorsproject.org.

 

Billy Joe was born to Nellie and Thurman “Cap” Henry on June 20, 1926, in Mansfield. He was the second of nine children. Billy Joe and Lee, his older brother, grew up together. They played together, went to school together, milked cows together, picked cotton together, and sometimes just lay down in the hay fields together and rested. It was on one such day, that they saw their first airplane; to which Lee replied, “Look, Billy Joe, there goes a flying hay baler.”

 

Billy Joe attended Mansfield High School. During World War II, Billy Joe served in the Navy on a destroyer, the USS LaVallette, where he became, just Joe.

 

After the war, Joe came back to Texas and settled in Kennedale, where he met and married Bette Hall. They had four boys and were married 58 years before Bette died in 2005.

 

Joe spent his professional life in construction, as a general superintendent. He developed subdivisions, built homes, apartment projects, churches, office buildings, and multi-story banks. He always said, “If you get me a set of prints, I can build anything for you.” So now, Joe got a promotion … he is supervising the construction of all those mansions, just over the hilltop, in that bright land where he’ll never grow old.

 

Joe was preceded in death by his parents and seven brothers and sisters.

 

Survivors: He is survived by his brother, Ray Henry and wife, Barbara; his sons, Gary Henry and wife, Lori, Bari Henry and wife, Vicki, David Henry and wife, Jean, and Randy Henry and wife, Melinda; eight grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

 

Published in Star-Telegram on Mar. 14, 2015

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