Billy Joe Sisson

Billy Joe Sisson passed away in Medford, Oregon on October 5, 2013. Billy was born to Rufus Sisson and Georgia McGee in Colcord, Oklahoma on May 3, 1933. He was the sixth child out of thirteen children. When Billy was born he only weighed 3 pounds. He was kept in a shoe box close to the warmth of the cooking stove as in incubator. Billy was considered a blue baby and no one thought he would make it. But as everyone got to know him they learned that he was a little stubborn and when he set his mind to something there was no changing it. This is a trait he carried throughout the rest of his life.

Billy first moved to Oregon in 1942 with his family, the family settled down in Grand Ronde area until 1948 when they decided to move back to Oklahoma. As Billy became a young man, he dreamed about moving back to Oregon. So in 1951 he made his final move to the state in which he loved. During this time settled in the Sweet Home area, where he met and fell in love with Elizabeth Burnsides. They ran off to Washington and were married June of 1956, two years after meeting. As a married man, Billy moved to Willamina and in December 1959 he became a daddy fro the first time to a little girl. Billy was 27 years old. He would say "you can't have just one child" so in 1962, a son was born, two days before Billy's 29th birthday. Over the years they celebrated many birthdays together.

Billy spent most of his life working in the woods falling timber. He enjoyed the outdoors and loved teaching his children to enjoy the beauty of the woods and all it has to offer. Billy loved bear hunting and spent many days in the woods with his son ans they ran the dogs. Woody, his four legged best friend, was always at his side helping with the hunt. He also loved hunting with his good friend, Philip, as they tracked deer and elk. They spent many hours walking the hill sides and playing tricks on each other. Billy was great at playing pranks on others but wasn't to fond of pranks being played on him. He considered Grand Ronde his "old stomping grounds". He was a proud member of the Elks Lodge for 47 years in Independence, OR, #1950.

Billy was very proud of his children and as their families grew, four grandchildren came along and Billy's love grew too. He enjoyed spending time with each one of them. Billy would travel to Medford to see his grandson, Michael race his cage Kart. On a trip to Crater Lake, his granddaughter, Jessica, at age 3 informed him that he would have to feed her on this trip. He happily obliged. When the third grandchild, Dan arrived, Billy would make a special trip from Grand Ronde to Albany, every weekend to visit him. In his later years, his forth grandchild, "Little" Billy was born and brought a special joy to his heart, not to mention he was the spitting image of him. Billy looked forward to his grandchildren getting old enough to share his love of hunting and the great outdoors.

Billy is survived by his daughter, Betty and her husband, Glenn Goodson and a son Billy and his wife, Brenda Sisson: grandchildren, Michael and his wife, Casey, Jessica, Dane and Little Billy and one great-granddaughter, Keyera. His siblings, Lucretia "Chris" Roberts, John Sisson, Nancy Cockroft from Colorado and William "Pete" Sisson of New Mexico. Preceded in death by his parents, brothers, Walt "Jack", Arkel, Ira, Tom, Russell, Kenneth and sisters, Velma and Ruby "Joanne".

A celebration of life will be held at 1:00p.m., Friday, October 11, 2013 at Buck Hollow Cemetery in Sheridan, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, a donation towards the purchase of his headstone would be appreciated.