Wilma Billie Young

Billie was born to the late Fred and Della Gammon on November 28, 1924 in Brockton, Mass and graduated from Brockton High School in 1942 and later attended Wilfred Academy. She married William “Bill” Young in Reno, Nev on April 22,1951 (although we have recently discovered they actually married on April 23, 1951- but celebrated on April 22 reason being we can only assume that was our father’s birthday so he would not forget the date) They moved to Atlanta shortly after and raised 3 children.

Billie is survived by her daughters, Kerry (Brian) Jackson of Winter Haven Fla. and Gretchen (Greg) Burns of Buford, Ga. She is also survived by two step daughters Carole (Kenny) Brown of Epsom, NH and Jan Holman of Jacksonville, Fla., brother Robert Gammon, twelve grandchildren, twenty-two great- grandchildren, six great-great grandchildren, several nieces and nephews and her best buddy and caregiver Laura Loughton.

Billie was preceded in death by her husband Bill, son Paul Young, grandsons Spc. Robert Burns US Army and Daniel Burns, sisters Lois Fielding and Arlene Bates.

Billie was a loving wife and mother who was always there for her family and friends. She loved flowers and gardening and it was not unusual to see her in the yard pulling weeds and tending to the landscape making sure her home stood out as one of the prettiest on the street. She loved animals and was “momma” to a variety of dogs and cats throughout her life. We lived on a farm for several years and mom milked the cows, took care of the chickens- wasn’t crazy about it but she pushed through- she never did get over her fear of horses even though we had several. After moving to the suburbs of Atlanta, mom went to work for Sears as a bookkeeper. She retired in 1988 and they bought a small lake cabin in Baldwin, Ga. and lived there for a few years before ultimately settling in Largo, Fla to be closer to the beaches that she loved so much. Daily walks and swims in the ocean were her therapy. She volunteered at the Largo Library and Events Center and was honored several times as Volunteer of the Year, she also worked with Hospice and RCS Thrift Store and loved finding bargains while sorting and tagging the donations.

After dad’s passing, mom started traveling the world with her sister, brother and nieces. Their adventures took them from New Zealand to Switzerland and everywhere in between. Mom documented all their journeys with a diary of the trip, recording all the details and adding her own commentary about their adventures—some of which would have you laughing so hard the tears would start to flow. She had a great sense of humor and a quick wit that helped get her through the memory loss, confusion and aging process and endeared her in the hearts of everyone who had the honor to know her.

Graveside service will be held Friday September 17, 2021 at 11:00 am at Serenity Gardens located at 13401 Indian Rocks Rd Largo, Fla. 33774

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Samaritan’s Purse U.S. Disaster Relief