Billy Gable

Billy Joe (Bill) Gable passed peacefully from this life to his forever home in Heaven on May 16, 2026, in Odessa, Texas at the age of 89. Bill was born to Robert Gable and Rosa Lea Gable (Baucum) in Brown County, Texas on October 14, 1936. He grew up alongside his brothers Robert Edward (Bob) Gable and Jimmy Leon (Jim) Gable in Bangs, Texas and played tennis (going to state) for the Bangs High School Dragons.

Bill accepted Jesus as his Savior as a young boy. Being the middle of 3 sons, he was tough, but he was also kind and easygoing. Bill was known for his smile and was always well liked by all who knew him. As a young man, he moved to Odessa with his family in the early 1950’s where he eventually met and married Gail Wheeler on Christmas Eve in 1958. Bill served in the United States Army from 1959 to 1962. Bill and Gail later had 2 children, Tammy and Greg, and remained married for 28 years. They built a family on faith in God and were very active in church, volunteering in many roles. Two of those favorite roles were driving a church bus and coaching a team full of teenage boys in the church softball league. He enjoyed building race cars and bird hunting with Greg, creating Christmas lights displays at his home, calling his daughter “Punky,” letting his kids and their friends shoot bottle rockets from the rooftop on the 4th of July, and just being the “good cop” fun dad!

Bill had a strong work ethic and worked hard as a young man and all the way to his retirement. He was a top-notch fabricator. His expertise was working with metal but he could work with any material. Bill was the proud owner of Gable’s Welding in Odessa from 1974 to 1986. He later moved to Round Rock, Texas and worked for Best Printing in Austin where he was well respected and received numerous recognition awards.

In Round Rock, Bill met Sueann Giese and they were married in November 1993. Bill and Sue enjoyed the Texas Hill Country together and eventually moved from Round Rock to Liberty Hill. They loved the Texas flag, the Texas star, bluebonnets, birds, warm weather, the Dallas Cowboys, and those Longhorns (and Red Raiders too!).

Bill had a green thumb and always enjoyed working in his yard and taking care of beautiful plants and flowers. He also loved to fish, especially at Lake Buchannan, catching all those white bass!

In April 2016, Bill and Sue moved from Liberty Hill to Odessa to be closer to family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Bob Gable (in 1996), his wife Sueann Gable (in 2020), and his grandson Tyler Hendricks (in 2024).

Bill is survived by his daughter and son-in-law Tammy and Steve Hendricks of Odessa; his son and daughter-in-law Greg and Carolyn Gable of Benbrook; granddaughter Holly Anders and her husband Jon of Lubbock; granddaughter-in-law Kelsie Hendricks of Lufkin; great grandchildren Callum Anders, Eleanor Anders, Mia Hendricks and Amy Hendricks. He is also survived by his brother and sister-in-law Jim and LaJuana Gable of Boerne; sister-in-law Pat Gable of Leander; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Tom & Kay Giese of Rock Island, IL; nieces and nephew Kelly Kullenberg, Stacey Herzog, Donna James-Spruce, Jay Gable, and Barb Oldsen; his great nieces and nephews; stepsister Bonnie Doss; and his first wife who remained his friend throughout the years, Gail Gable Pool.

We are so thankful for our dad, also known as Pap-Pa, and especially thankful to know that his physical limitations and struggles are over, and we will see him again one day in the perfection of Heaven!

Our family would like to thank Parks Senior Living nursing home staff for their care of “Billy Joe” over the last 4 years. He was a “trouper” and “hung in there” with all you guys through a lot, always friendly, rarely complaining. He enjoyed bingo and especially loved his time hanging out with the physical therapy girls! He will be missed.

A family memorial and celebration of life will be held at a later date.