A retired Air Force Master Sergeant of 23 years, Billy passed away on Oct. 2, 2020, at the age of 78 with his wife of 53 years by his side. He died at Community Healthcare of Texas, Providence Hospice, with his family around him. Billy had been in failing health for several years.
Service Information: A service will be held Feb 11 at 11:00 am. His tribute will be streamed from Lake Shore Funeral Home’s website. Click Here to View the Live Stream. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be sent to HOMES for our TROOPS.
Bill was born in Ardmore, OK to Willie and Barbara June O’Bryant (Cross). He later moved with his mother and step-father to Dumas, Ark where he graduated from Dumas H.S. in 1960.
As a young boy he spent his hours camping, hunting and fishing.
He was always finding solutions for fixing problems. Shortly after graduation he worked at the local newspaper, The Dumas Clarion. It wasn’t long though that his love for airplanes led him to enlist in the Air Force where he went to school and became a communications technician.
His first tour of duty took him to Offutt Air Force Base NE located across the river from the home of his future wife, Janice Slawson. They dated for 6 weeks before he got orders for Vietnam. The next year was spent courting through letters until he returned in Oct. 1966. They were married Feb. 11 of the following year and made their home at Barksdale AFB, LA. but it wasn’t long before the Air Force had other plans for him. They chose him to be at the headquarters for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at Andrews AFB. He also flew several backup missions for Presidents of the United States. After 10 years, his squadron was moved back to Offutt AFB, NE.
In 1979 the family was sent to the Philippines for 4 years. Before coming back to the US, the family adopted a newborn baby daughter. They were stationed at Eglin AFB Florida for a year before Billy retired and moved his family to Dallas. He had gotten a job as an avionics engineer with the company Electrospace in Waco. He continued working with the company until they changed from Aerospace to Chrysler Technologies then to Raytheon. He then did contract work for aerospace companies McDonnell Douglas, Ozark Airlines and finally retired from McDowell in 2004.
During his time in the Air Force he worked a second job so that Janice could be a stay-at-home mom. He was a “Jack of all” trades and possessed the ingenuity to perform a wide range of tasks from car repair to plumbing. He enjoyed woodworking and built a camper, a fireplace and many pieces of furniture.
His greatest passion was the outdoors. The family spent many hours/days on the Shenandoah River camping and fishing. After retirement he had more time for hunting with his best friend, Bill Sauble, at their deer camp. His 10 year old grandson was another favorite hunting buddy.
He was also very active in scouting. He was a Scout Master and led his troops on a number of expeditions. This includes hiking the Bataan Death March and climbing Mount Arayat in the Philippines. He also helped his daughter that was a Brownie on her camping trips.
It was no secret that his favorite holiday was Halloween. He created many elaborate costumes for his kids, especially Star Wars themes. For a scouting party he donned an impressingly frightful Dracula outfit and emerged from a life size coffin he had built.
When back in the States his daughters was very involved with competitive roller skating and Dad was there supporting them in every way. He was at every event and made sure that all the equipment was ready for peak performance. He even constructed specialized tools used to maintain the equipment.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Barbara June Hickman; stepfather, Cecil Hickman; father, Willie O’Bryant; and his grandparents, Walter and Alma Cross.
Survivors include his wife, Janice O’Bryant; sister and her husband, Randa Lynn and Jimmy Billings; son and his wife, Shawn and Kelly O’Bryant; daughters, Jennifer Allen and Charlene Ball; grandchildren, Lauren Latham (husband, Klayton Latham), Tyler Allen and Spencer Allen; and also numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews and cousins.
In lieu of flowers family has requested that donations may be made to Home For Our Troops. www.hfotusa.com
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I remember my dear cousin Billy Ray. He was like a brother to his uncles Norman and Rusty Cross and another son to his Grandparents Walter and Alma Cross. My sister Betty and he remained close throughout their lives with that special connection enjoyed by peers of the same age. Billy Ray, and my sister Betty and me, along with our cousins Randa Lynn, Cathy, Mark and Dana, were all part of the Cross clan of grandkids and we all buzzed in and around the living heart of our family, our Granddad Walter and Grandmother Alma’s home where we knew we belonged, where there was always joyfulness and laughter and a good dinner. We were all part of a different time, a quaint, romantic time, enjoying a faithful and loving family in an age when everyone knew what was right and tried to do it. I remember hearing one story of Billy Ray as a young child, bent over Granddad’s knee who, stifling his amusement, had his pocket knife out picking bits of buckshot out of Billy Ray’s backside. Billy Ray had trespassed on a neighbor’s land and the old coot shot him in the backside with buckshot. People did things like that in those days. I remember how proud we were of Billy Ray watching his Air Force career and seeing how smart he looked in his uniform, and how faithful he was to our country and to his family. How brave he was to go so far and wide in his military career. Sometimes when I look at Norman Rockwell pictures, I know that the innocence, honor, love of family and joy portrayed in those scenes was real. I know it because our family had it. We lived it. What a blessed life! We will see Billy Ray one day. We rest in the comfort of the knowledge that he is with all the beloved ones who have already slipped the bounds of this earth and entered the gates of Glory.