Willieclyde "Billie" Singleton Land

Singleton on June 11, 1932 in Houston, Texas. Her birth name, Willieclyde, was derived from the

first names of her maternal uncles, Willie and Clyde Hunter.

“Billie” to all who knew her, grew up in Houston’s Fifth Ward district with her nine brothers and sister, and dedicated her life to Christ and the Presbyterian faith at an early age through the guidance of Reverend James H. M. Boyce as a member of Gregg Street Presbyterian Church (later Pine Crest Presbyterian Church). Billie graduated from Phillis Wheatley High School in Houston and attended Texas Southern University, leaving just shy of earning her Bachelor’s Degree to marry United States Air Force Second Lieutenant Clarence J. Land in 1957.

Billie’s life as a military matriarch took her and her family all over the United States, and with every

relocation Billie carried her enduring dedication to the Presbyterian faith; joining and serving as a

Deacon at Faith United Presbyterian Church while stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado and with her

mother Ina at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles, where she was a steadfast, active

member and church officer serving as Deacon, Elder, and other positions for over forty years.

As her husband’s military career flourished and Clarence ultimately rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel,

Billie made her own mark as a member of the USAF Officers’ Wives Club, assisting military

families at the Airmen and Family Readiness Center, and serving as Director of the Retiree’s

Activities Office at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, CA. Billie also forged her own

career with Farmers Insurance Group, starting with the company as a clerk in the Colorado Springs,

CO regional office, transferring to the Santa Ana, CA regional office and later to the Los Angeles

main office before retiring in 1998. Creative, pleasant, practical, resourceful and opinionated (like

her mother Ina), Billie provided a stable and loving home life for her children in Orange County, CA

working full-time at Farmers and part-time for Bullock’s Department Store (now Macy’s). After her

children left for college, Billie still enjoyed working for Macy’s in Culver City. Billie brought that same spirited creativity and determination into everything she did in her spare time; a talented seamstress, often sewing her own formal attire for military functions, she dabbled in oil painting, and enjoyed live jazz and gospel music performances. Billie loved to travel, having visited Jerusalem, Rome, Paris, and New Orleans. She also enjoyed watching her favorite NBA team the Los Angeles Lakers play, and watching golf (a love of the sport that began at a PGA event in the 1960’s). For all of her wide-ranging interests and passions, Billie was first and foremost grounded in her family, and strived to support her brothers and sister whenever and wherever she could.

Billie was preceded in death by her mother Ina, her father Napoleon, brothers Edwin, Clarence, Byford, Bernard, Cyril, and Sigmund, and sister Annie Laurie. Billie leaves her legacy of dedication and service to faith and worthy causes to her children David Land, Susan Land, and Patrick Land, her granddaughter Olivia Land Curry, and is survived by her brothers Carl Singleton, Rex Singleton Sr., and several nieces and nephews.