Billy (Bill) Lee Thomas, of Odessa, passed away on October 14, 2021, in Odessa, Texas.

 

Graveside services will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, October 23, 2021, at Sunset Memorial Gardens, Odessa, Texas, officiated by Joshua Carpenter.

 

Bill was born in Norwood, Missouri to Mabel Irene (Campbell) and Charles Everett Thomas on September 21, 1934.  He graduated high school in Fairfax, Oklahoma.  He married Virginia Infield on September 25, 1956, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. 

 

He enjoyed tinkering with handmade objects in wood and iron, playing the harmonica, hunting and fishing, and liked going to local dances when he was younger. He also enjoyed painting watercolors and loved reading.  He was a machinist by trade.  He was an active member of Kingston Avenue Baptist Church and taught Training Union and Royal Ambassador classes, participated in the Men’s Breakfast group, and drove the church bus for many years.

 

He is preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Thomas; parents, Mabel and Charles Thomas; brothers, Robert, Chuck, Joe Paul, and sisters, Jewel, Lucille, Inez, Doris, and Patsy.

 

He is survived by his daughter, Debra (Thomas) and son-in-law, Terrall Franklin of Odessa; grandchild, Meredith and husband, Joshua Carpenter, great-grandchildren, Everett and Elias Carpenter of Plano, Texas; sister, Nina Bell Hazen of Wichita, Kansas, and many other extended family members.