Billy Lee Hensley

Bill was born September 30, 1916, in the town of Stroud, Oklahoma. When he was 2 years old his family moved to a ranch near the town of Gillette, Wyoming, where they homesteaded for a few years. It was here that Bill got his first look at things Western and perhaps this explains why 26 years later when he was honorably discharged form the U.S. Airforce at the Lowry Air Force base in Denver, Colorado, he elected to remain in Denver and make the west his home.

Bill worked as a Technical Illustrator for the Martin Denver Company for 4 1/2 years. At this point in time Bill left the Martin Co. to devote all of his time to creative painting and raising and training Appaloosa Horses, which he did successfully for approximately 8 years. Being an accomplished equestrian and horse breeder, this seemed like a natural marriage of ideas, art and horses. It was not long before Bill received a commission to paint Sunspot revel, an Appaloosa Stallion for Ralph Cannon of the Rocky Cliff Ranch; now his paintings of horses and ranch scenes have the endorsement of authority; a natural culmination of things experienced. Bill, not wanting to become stereotyped, has over the years painted whatever he was interested in at the time of the painting.

It is here that one should mention the fact that Bill gives all the credit for this independence to his wife, Elvira, who has always given him the moral support and encouragement to be his own man. Therefore, landscapes, horses, people, architectural, still life, and abstracts have been the subject of his brush. He works equally well in watercolor, acrylics and oils and is an acknowledged master of the airbrush.

Funeral Service Tuesday, June 15, 201 at 2:00 PM at Olinger Chapel Hill Mortuary 6601 South Colorado Blvd. Littleton, CO 80121. Viewing before service in chapel. Interment to follow service at Olinger Chapel Hill Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to The American Heart Association 7272 Greenville Avenue Dallas, TX 75231.

Arrangements under the direction of Olinger Chapel Hill Mortuary & Cemetery, Littleton, CO.