Billy Jack Knowles

On May 10, 2015, Billy Jack Knowles, age 58, was welcomed into his eternal home and released from the grips of Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease. Billy was born in Wichita Falls, Texas on July 12, 1956 to Aleta Hammil and Thomas Knowles. He was preceded in death by his father, Thomas; mother, Aleta Asher; son, Andrew Knowles; brother-in-law, Jerrell Barnes; father-in-law, Roark Barnes; and mother-in-law, Alyce Barnes. Survivors: wife of 33 years, Kathy; daughter, Shelley (Andrew Loveland); sister, Cindy (John Chambers); sister, Kathy Fragale (Chris White); nieces Misty (Chris Crider); Amy (Jody James); nephew, Kelly (Tracy Shipp); three great nieces and three great nephews. He is also survived by his loving family by marriage – Leslie and Shawn McKinnon and their children, Connor and Claire; Jerris Barnes, Brennan Barnes, and Cory Barnes.

Billy grew up and graduated high school in Burleson. He was always proud of being a Burleson Elk and a member of the Burleson Church of Christ. He attended Abilene Christian University where he met Kathy in the Big Purple Band. He worked in the nursery industry as a certified nurseryman and manager of Wolfe Nursery which took him and his family to Midland, Texas where they lived for twenty years. His first love was history, and after years in the retail nursery business, he returned to the University of Texas of the Permian Basin to complete the degree he had started many years before. He graduated with honors from UTPB with his Bachelor’s degree in education and began teaching history in Midland ISD. In 1997, he was the recipient of the James Madison Fellowship which was awarded to two Texans per year. He spent his summer at Georgetown University studying constitutional history and completed his Master’s degree in History from UTPB. Billy loved his family dearly and enjoyed sponsoring and chaperoning scout, band, and church youth activities. His passions were serving others through his church on the praise team or planting flower beds, co-leading his son’s scout troop, and teaching history at Alamo Junior High, Abell Junior High, and Lee High School. In 2006, Billy and Kathy moved to Fort Worth to be near family, and Billy taught in Keller ISD for three years before taking early retirement due to Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease.

Visitation and viewing will be from 6-8 on Wednesday evening at Moore Memorial Gardens on Davis Drive in Arlington, Texas. Funeral will be Thursday at 4pm in the chapel at The Hills Church of Christ, North Richland Hills campus.

Donations may be made in honor of Billy to Team BK Alzheimer’s Association (North Central Texas) Walk to End ALZ. http://alz.org/northcentraltexas/