RAYMONDVILLE - Billie Ruth Conley Pickard passed away at the age of 85, July 21, 2010, at home after a year-long battle with Non- Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Charles C. and Mable Eleanor Conley, and her sister, Adelaide Elizabeth (Betty) Mann.

She is survived by her husband of sixty-four years, Dr. Marshall Pickard, two children, Marsha Ann (Shan) Rankin (Davis) of McAllen, and Robert Marshall (Bob) Pickard (Lessie) of San Angelo, and four grandchildren, Marshall and Duncan Rankin and Sarah and Rachel Pickard, her brother, Carl C. Conley (Merle) of Austin, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Billie was born in Norman, Oklahoma, and moved with her family to Raymondville in 1926 at the age of one. Her father set up his medical practice in Raymondville and was also a doctor for the Norias Division of the King Ranch. The friends she made through that association influenced her entire life. She loved the outdoors and was an excellent shot. She was a born leader educated in Raymondville schools, and she graduated from Southern Methodist University, where she was elected to a variety of positions and honors, with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education degree in 1946. The following July, she married Marshall Pickard of Pecan Gap, Texas, to whom she was introduced by her brother when Marshall was stationed with the last horse cavalry in the U.S. Army at Ft. Brown in Brownsville, Texas, prior to being sent to the CBI Theater. They had one date, at the Drive Inn Restaurant in Matamoros, wrote letters throughout his tour of duty, and through those letters they decided to marry when he returned. Their first home was in Pecan Gap in northeast Texas, but Marshall always said he was unsuccessful in transplanting his south Texas girl to north Texas. They moved to Raymondville where she taught school for a time while Marshall began his veterinary practice and farmed until he took up ranching. Their long and loving relationship was a blessing to their entire family, as well as to their employees and friends.

Billie was very committed to and active in the community, and early in their married life she and Marshall broke with family tradition and began supporting Republican candidates. Along with many other women throughout the State of Texas, she was active in building the modern Republican Party. She served in numerous campaigns, as Republican County Chairman, on the State Republican Executive Committee, and in a variety of Gubernatorial-appointed positions including the Board of Regents of Pan American University, and as Chairman of the first Skills Standards Board. The program developed by this board was later emulated by others. She also served on the Raymondville School Board (1968-1977) as its Secretary/ Treasurer, Vice-President, and President, and was dedicated to the ideal of fiscally sound, ethical government. The friends she made through her political life brought her some of her greatest joy and her closest friends.

In her later years, Billie found particular pleasure in developing a custom-made boot business because of her relationship with boot maker Augustin Lopez and the clients with whom she worked. Said one of her earliest customers, “There isn’t a person who wears her boots that doesn’t consider her a friend.” Her life was greatly enriched with these relationships.

Billie never stopped making friends, and her friendships extended to activities at church and her active participation in tennis until the age of 82. The friends of her children and grandchildren were also her friends. Her home was always open to company, and her table always had room for one more. Celebrating Thanksgiving at the old family barn, with family, friends, and friends of friends was something she always looked forward to. Relationships were her treasures.

Billie’s greatest joy was her family, and she took every opportunity, along with her husband, to support her children and grandchildren and to impart the life lessons that would build their faith and mold their character and make them good citizens. She placed great value on the content of a person’s character, and she taught her family it should he the foundation of their friendships and their relationships with each other. She led by example and with encouragement, and she held them to high standards with unconditional love. Her close relationship with her sister and brother, and their efforts to bring the family together for holidays and other family events, developed a bond of closeness that extends over multiple generations and to those who have become part of the family through marriage. She loved her inlaws and her nieces and nephews and their spouses and children. She loved her own son-in-law and daughter-inlaw deeply.

Billie also loved and treasured her daily companion, Araceli Lara, who so lovingly cared for her for more than thirty years and especially in her last difficult year. She was additionally thankful for Aurora Pedraza, Millie Cantu, Paul Villa, and Ester Garza who have done so much to bring comfort to her and to Marshall and the rest of the family, emotionally and physically. The care provided by Odyssey Hospice was a special gift.

Her family has been comforted by, and is thankful for, the many friends who have communicated their concern and interest throughout the past year. They are especially comforted by the knowledge that she was a woman of faith and now rests in the arms of her loving God.

A Memorial Service was held at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, July 26, 2010 at the First United Methodist Church of Raymondville, 192 S. 3rd Street. Visitation followed in the Fellowship Hall.

In celebration of Billie’s commitment to her community, the family suggests memorial gifts may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Raymondville, 192 S. 3rd Street, Raymondville, TX 78580; M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030-4009; the Museum of South Texas History, 200 N. Closner Blvd., Edinburg, TX 78541; the Vannie E. Cook, Jr. Children’s Cancer and Hematology Clinic, 101 W. Expressway 83, McAllen, TX 78503-9967; or Willacy County Crime Stoppers, P.O. Box 644, Raymondville, TX 78580, or a charity of one’s choice.

Duddlesten Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements, (956) 689-2151.

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