Ruth E. "Billie" Wilson

Billie Ball Wilson was born in Kansas City, Kansas, on November 2, 1917. She was the daughter of Bess Bousman Ball and William Ball. She grew up in the Rosedale area of Kansas City, attending Whitmore Elementary and Rosedale High School, from which she graduated in 1935. She attended Kansas City Kansas Junior College for two years and then graduated from the University of Kansas, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She studied music, but finally majored in sociology. Her first job was working with the homeless in Kansas City, Kansas. On September 28, 1940, she married Marshall Wilson, also of Kansas City, Kansas, and they were married for 77 years. After Marshall returned home from his active duty of five campaigns in World War II, Marshall and Billie began to raise their family. Daughter, Rebecca Ball Wilson, was born in 1947, and son, Robert Evan “Bob” Wilson, was born in 1950.

Marshall and Billie both worked at Interstate Heating and Plumbing Company which was founded by Billie’s father, William Ball. Later, they joined Marshall’s brother, Eugene Wilson, to work at Holsinger Nursery, a company started by Marshall’s grandfather, when he moved to Kansas City after the Civil War. In 1959 they built a home at Lake Quivira, Kansas, in 1959, and lived there until they retired in 1979.

From 1979 until 2001, Marshall and Billie had two homes. In the summer, they lived in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Westcliffe, Colorado. Their winter home was at the Roadrunner Club, a retirement community in Borrego Springs, California. After having sold their mountain home, they spent the next few years dividing their time between Borrego Springs and Aurora, Colorado, where they later bought a home at Heather Gardens. In 2016, at 98 years of age, Marshall and Billie moved to St. Andrews Assisted Living. Marshall passed away there on July 23, 2017, just 10 days short of his 100th birthday.

Throughout their marriage, Marshall and Billie enjoyed traveling, playing golf, and entertaining their many friends in Kansas City, Colorado and California. Billie was an excellent cook, and she and Marshall enjoyed opening their home to friends and family. Most of all, they enjoyed spending time with their children – Becky and Jeff Flax, Bob and Debbie Wilson, and granddaughter, Annie Freeman Bukay and her husband, Mike.

Billie was preceded in death by her dear husband, Marshall Wilson (August 2, 1917-July 23, 2017), and her beloved son-in-law, Avery Freeman (September 16, 1941 – February 4, 2004).