Billie Jean Nordstrom Odom was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on October 20, 1930 to Gustaf Arvid and Arline Nordstrom. She attended Istrouma High School then graduated from LSU with a degree in French.
She married Leonard Odom in June 1949. In 1959, they moved to Dallas where Billie raised their family then began teaching English and French in the Richardson School District. While teaching full-time, she earned a master’s degree in Comparative Literature from UT-Dallas. Following a transfer to Midland, Texas, she again taught French in the Midland School District. When Leonard retired from Texas Instruments, they moved back to their beloved Baton Rouge where Billie reconnected with friends she had known since grade school and cared for her own parents. After Leonard’s death, she moved to Mansfield to be closer to her children in the DFW area.
Billie loved traveling, particularly to France and traveled there and to other parts of Europe as often as she could, either taking students or traveling with friends. She once said that she would keep traveling until she ran out of money and then she’d stay home. Her French was so good that a French person once asked her if she was Canadian. At the age of 85, she and her children took one last trip to France together. She swore she’d forgotten her French, but when two women struck up a conversation with her at a café, she found she was fluent again.
Billie Jean Odom was an amazing woman—brilliant, loving, kind, and politically astute. She loved music and reading, and there was no one better to share a glass of wine with. A great home cook, she made the best crab cakes in the universe. Her gumbo was delicious and so was her cornbread dressing. She has left an enormous hole that will never be filled.
She passed away July 4. She is survived by her four children: Michael Odom (Donna), Teri Odom Stephens (Rick), Karon Odom Shipman (James), and Sharon Odom. She is also survived by her grandchildren (Claire Odom, Rachel Rodriguez, Rebecca Schluneger, and Jared Stephens) and her great grandchildren (Cynthia, Natalie, Gavin, Trey, and Evan).
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to www. https://help.rescue.org/donate, an organization that makes education for girls around the world possible, something Billie cared deeply about.
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