There will be a celebration of her life on August 7th at one o’clock at the Havana Country Club.
Julia was born in Tallahassee on March 14, 1954, the third of five children born to Earl and Georgette Billingsley. A lifelong Tallahassee resident, she graduated from Florida State High school in 1972. She worked at Tallahassee Parks and Recreation for 5 years before transferring to the City of Tallahassee Waste Management, where she worked for 23 years before retiring.
Julia married Dick Roberts in 1975 and together they had two children, Nathan and Kathleen. The marriage dissolved, but they remained friends and co-parents. She met and married Jim Dupree in 1991 and they were together until the end. They shared many years of baseball, golf, movies, and laughter. They also shared a passion for animals and provided a home for countless rescue dogs, the most recent being Bucky, who never left her side during her last year.
Mama, as her children called her, was a fierce protector of her children and grandchildren, always stepping up to the plate for them, while never letting them forget where they came from. She delighted in playing with her children and grandchildren and was never afraid to let her inner child out. She loved playing with her pogo stick and toy cars that she collected for her grandchildren. She was a great imagineer and could be counted on to make the best blanket forts and come up with the best games, including “Bop,” of which her children still play with their own children.
While we will always remember her quick wit and how easily she laughed; one of Mama’s greatest legacies is her cooking, a skill handed down from generations past. Family and friends could always count on her to put together exquisite meals, no matter how simple the recipe or humble the ingredients. Her Texas Horns, chicken fried steaks, and pecan pies will live on forever.
Julia is survived by her husband of 31 years, James Dupree of Crawfordville; two children, Nathan Roberts (Courtney) of Tallahassee, and Kathleen Roberts (Ben Jarashow) of Rochester, New York; two stepsons, Billy Dupree and Jamey Dupree (Rani), both of Tallahassee; six beloved grandchildren, Nolan Roberts, Ellie Jane Roberts, Boone Jarashow, Frances Cypress Jarashow, Wilder Jarashow, Avalee Roberts; her former spouse, Dick Roberts of Tallahassee. She is also survived by her siblings, Earl, Bob, Mary, and John Billingsley, and their families. She was predeceased by her parents, Joseph Earl Billingsley and Georgette Marie Carew Billingsley.
In remembrance of Julia’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to the Mayo Clinic’s dementia and/or cancer research centers.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CulleysMeadowWoodFuneral.com for the Dupree family.
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