Billye Jo Lacey

November 17, 1926 – May 2, 2020

Billye Jo Lacey of Lago Vista, Texas passed away peacefully on May 2, 2020 in Houston, Texas.

Billye Jo Drake was born in Berryville, Arkansas on November 17, 1926 to Gladys Lee (Denton) Drake and Edward Clark Drake.

Billye Jo married James Wilbur Lacey on November 11, 1944. They had three children together and with Jim working in the oil and gas industry they relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada then back to Tulsa, Oklahoma again before finally settling in Houston, Texas. Billye Jo began working as a realtor with Jim West & Co. Realtors, the largest residential real estate firm in Houston during the 1970’s, where she was one of the top producing realtors and a member of the millionaire club several years in a row. After her husband Jim passed away in 1976 she met DeWitt C. McGee in 1978. She and DeWitt began a companionship which lasted 37 years until his passing in 2015. Billye Jo and DeWitt loved to travel; driving up the Eastern and Western coasts of the U.S., traveling to east Asia, Hawaii and Mexico. In 1984 they purchased a houseboat which they named “Billye Jo” and kept her in a marina on Lake Travis in Austin, Texas where they loved to visit for long periods at a time. They spent many wonderful relaxing days together boating, fishing and having the kids and grandkids come to visit. They loved Lake Travis so much they decided to look for properties and found one they liked in Lago Vista, Texas where they designed and built their dream home. Billye Jo always said how lucky she was to have such two wonderful men in her life.

Billye Jo also loved entertaining and hosting parties, playing cards, scrabble, gardening, animals, reading cookbooks and was an excellent cook; especially making German chocolate cake from scratch which she made for everyone’s birthdays.

Billye Jo passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at her granddaughters’ home in Houston, Texas.

Billye was preceded in death by her husband Jim in 1976, her mother Gladys in 1981, her father Edward in 1985, her son James Clark Lacey in 2016, her son Robert Stephen Lacey in 2019 and her companion DeWitt in 2015.

Billye is survived by her daughter Michelle of Houston, Texas; granddaughter Windy and her husband Jim of Houston, Texas; granddaughter Lacey and her husband Mike of Houston, Texas; grandson Michael of Austin, Texas; grandson Kenneth of Coweta, Oklahoma; granddaughter Kristi of Tulsa, Oklahoma and several great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson.

Billye Jo will be laid to rest at Memorial Oaks Cemetery at a private service in Houston, Texas next to her beloved husband and two sons.