Last updated on September 29, 2023
Billie Marian Garrett Stevenson, a lifelong resident of Rockwall, Texas, went to be with her Lord and Savior September 27, 2023, at the age of 95. Billie was born on the Garrett family farm just south of Fate, on land her grandfather had farmed since the late 1800s. She was welcomed by her only sibling, Runelle, and parents Lockie Alma Wooldridge and William Elijah Garrett. She loved her growing-up years on the cotton farm, where she helped her parents work and played with many Wooldridge cousins. As she grew, she treasured the time she spent worshipping and socializing at the Fate Union church, where Baptist, Methodist, Christian, and Presbyterian congregants somehow all got along and worshipped in the same building. The Fate church is where she married William G.A. Stevenson, the love of her life, on June 16, 1950. It was also central to the lives of a beloved group of friends, sisters, and cousins, who became known as “The Fate Girls,” a group that met at least monthly for many decades, doing community service work, collecting historical info and artifacts, but mostly just having fun. Family, friends, and faith were always important to Billie – but like many teachers, her students were perhaps her greatest legacy. She enrolled in North Texas State Teacher’s College following high school graduation in 1945, receiving her BBA degree in 1950. While her academic career was unremarkable, her first moments in the classroom were electric: she, and everyone around her, knew she had found her calling. She started teaching in Lewisville, where–with no training in the sport–she coached a winning girls’ basketball team. From there she went to Wilmer-Hutchins, where she taught business classes and choreographed the drill team. Finally, in 1960 she wound up back home in Rockwall, where she started a high-school teaching career that would span 26 years. Her primary subjects in the sixties were English and shorthand, and she sponsored just about every extracurricular activity the school offered. By the seventies, she was focusing her teaching on Vocational Office Education. But her students agree that it did not matter so much what she taught, but rather HOW she taught – that she loved and respected each of them, and believed each had dignity and worth, even those who were frequent visitors to the principal’s office. After retiring in the mid 1980s to spend time with her grandchildren and to travel, she became even more involved in community activities, serving on various committees over the years and leaving her mark on dozens of organizations. She served as president of many, including the Rockwall Area Retired Teachers Association, the Friday Study Club, and the Rockwall’s Ex-Students Association. With some clubs, she says she just “showed up” and did her part to keep meetings fun and the conversation flowing. She was always “going and doing” except when she was at home enjoying visits from friends and former students, who came from all over to share a laugh or photo from the old days. She was active for decades in First Methodist Rockwall, where she served in various ministries over the years, particularly enjoying her Sunday school class and the time she spent volunteering with the Society of St. Stephen. Later in life, she was thrilled when her beloved Rockwall Independent School District named Billie Stevenson Elementary in Fate in her honor. She spent many happy days engaged with the BSE children, teachers, and staff, and even continued throwing the first pitch in their annual faculty softball game until it became impossible for her to do so. Billie’s survivors include son Allen and wife Lisa; granddaughters Lauren Pluhar (Joe) and Leigha Nottingham (Braxton); great grandchildren Archer, Bryson, Penelope, and Teddy Jo; nieces Gerri Colbert, Vickie Cornelius (Ben), Jeanne Sorrells (Danny), and a number of cousins and extended family. She was preceded in death by her husband of 65+ years, Bill Stevenson; parents William Elijah and Lockie Wooldridge Garrett; sister Runelle Wright; and nephew Michael Wright, as well as many beloved aunts and uncles. It is surprising that a woman who attended more than 500 funerals in her lifetime and loved to tell about them chose, for her own service, just a simple graveside gathering. Perhaps it is her way of acknowledging the simplicity and beauty of the Rockwall she grew up in, when people didn’t have very much – but they had each other. Billie’s service will be held at 11:00am on Monday, October 2 at Rockwall Memorial Cemetery, 409 W Washington, Rockwall (Highway 66 near the lake). In lieu of flowers, friends might consider donating to the above-mentioned Society of St. Stephen, FUMC, 1200 E. Yellow Jacket Lane, Rockwall, TX, 75087. Honorary pallbearers: Kevin Conner, Dan Deaton, Doug Morris, Johnny Payne, Joe Pecina, Dwayne Rhea, Larry Stevener, and Mike Stevener
