Billye Mills

                                                                     Billye Joan Mills

                                  Fondly remembered as Mother, Grandma B., Wawa, Aunt Billye

 Billye Joan Mills Fondly remembered as Mother, Grandma B., Wawa, Aunt Billye Billye was born September 26th, 1935, in Horton, KS, near the end of the Depression, the youngest of 5 children. Her parents, Benedict Temple and Lois Baughman, moved to Kansas City when Billye was 5 years old along with her siblings Jackie, Bonnie, BT, and Camilla.

      Billye was married in 1954 to David Mills after he returned from the Korean War. They moved to Ruskin a few years later with the arrival of their first daughter, Pamela. A few years later, Kimberly was born. With David’s death in 1962, Billye devoted herself to raising her daughters and being available to care for and support her family. As the youngest of her siblings, Billye was very close with her mother, Lois.  

      Billye began her career in 1968 when Kim started kindergarten, and worked for 40+ years for the Internal Revenue Service. She was a dedicated employee, arriving to work daily at 5:30am. She postponed her retirement until the IRS moved into the old Kansas City Post Office building since this was near her childhood home. In the early 2000s, Billye joined her daughters and much of the family to make her home residence in Raymore, MO.  

       Billye had many hobbies. She spent years doing crafts, sewing clothes for her children, doing needlework, and was an original DIY-er. She also loved reading, watching old movies, and Dancing With the Stars.

      Grandma B/Aunt Billye was known for her outstanding baking. Everyone loved her chocolate sheet cake, red velvet cake, homemade mac & cheese, banana bread, snickerdoodles, and pumpkin muffins. Any time there was a holiday or family gathering, Billye made sure there was plenty of food.

      Billye had an extensive collection of unique keys and owls and displayed them throughout her home. She enjoyed traveling with friends and attending craft shows with her sisters even though sometimes she had to wear a pioneer outfit to sell crafts at Missouri Town.

     One of her greatest joys was to be grandmother to Becky and Keith, and to be great-grandma, Wawa, to Gentry and Jack. She attended countless sports and dance events over the past few decades. She took Becky on many trips to the zoo and mall, and Keith to arcades and even would jump on the trampoline with them. She spent much of the last decade helping to care for Gentry and Jack and making them any food they could possibly want. She loved to sing “This Old Man” to Jack when she would put him down for his nap, and she made sure Gentry always had an endless supply of pumpkin muffins. Billye always said she wasn’t a fan of dogs, but she was first to dog sit or check on family dogs at any time. She would pat them on the head, and then tell them to go on their way.

    Billye was always the kindest person in the room. She was thoughtful, caring, and always had something nice to say. She was incredibly organized, and went above and beyond in everything that she did. She cared deeply for others and was loved by all. There will be a big hole with her passing that can never be filled. She made such an impact on those in her life, and her memory will carry on in those she loved. We have faith that she is surrounded by the love of all who went before her.

     Billye is survived by her brother, Ben (BT), daughters, Pamela and Kimberly, grandchildren, Becky and Keith, and great-grandchildren, Gentry and Jack