Billie June (Willmore) Brown
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Billie June (Willmore) Brown, 82, passed away on Nov. 28, 2011, of congestive heart failure at Southcrest Hospital, Tulsa, Okla.
She was born May 27, 1929 in Elkville, Ill. to William Kenneth and Inez (Holt) Willmore; she graduated from Pinckneyville High School in 1947. She married Burnell Brown in December 1947. They lived in Alton, Ill.; San Antonio,Texas; Paducah, Kentucky; Torrance, California and Warner, Oklahoma. They were divorced after 30 years of marriage.
After her youngest child went to school, Billie returned to further her education. She graduated from Bacone College with an RN associates degree. She worked for Muskogee General Hospital and as Director of Nursing at Countryside Estates Nursing Home in Warner. She traveled to Yuma, Ariz. and volunteered for the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board there, working with the elderly.
Billie lived in Apache Junction, Ariz., near her parents prior to their deaths. She moved to Weston, Mo., near her dear sister, Brenda Willmore Hamby, where she was manager of Weston Senior Citizen Housing. Billie lived her last six years with her daughter, Denyce Brown Willis, of Tulsa, Okla. She happily returned to Countryside Estates as a resident this fall after a hospitalization.
Billie will be remembered for her sweet but spunky spirit, her fierce love for and commitment to her family and friends, her acts of kindness to many, her nursing and mission work and her love of the Lord. She was a loving mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, nurse and friend.
Billie is survived by her sister, Brenda (Larry) Hamby, Weston, Mo.; sisters-in-law, Geneva Griffin, Pinckneyville, Ill. and Marilyn Hill, Union City, Ky.; aunt Faye Willmore, Mt. Vernon, Ill. and uncle Gene Holt, Chino, Calif. She is survived by her children Ken Brown, Fairbanks, Alaska; Mike (Stephanie) Brown, Pleasanton, Kans.; Denyce (Randy) Willis, Tulsa, Okla.; Edna Brown (David Rutherford), Ithaca, N.Y. and Art (Susan) Brown, Holmen, Wis. Billie is also survived by her 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, whom she loved very much. She also leaves behind many cousins, nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Billie's memory can be made to Alzheimer's Association, Attn: Teen Camp, 2448 East 81st, Suite 3000, Tulsa, Okla. 74137.
A memorial service to celebrate Billie's life was held Saturday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Warner, Okla. A reception followed the service. Burial was private.
Gary Kelley Funeral Services assisted the family.