Billie Sue Houston, age 59 years, of Wilburton, Oklahoma, passed away in her home with her beloved husband and daughter by her side on Friday, January 19, 2024 after a battle with metastatic cancer.

Billie was born on September 2nd, 1964 to Billy Wayne & Martilla Saulsberry in Anchorage, Alaska. She grew up loving horseback riding, cruising the strip with her friends, and graduated from Service High School in 1982. In 1986, she gave birth to her only child, Tiffany Ketchel. Billie & Tiffany were inseparable through the years to follow, and she put her whole heart into being a fun, loving, and supportive mother.

In 1991, Billie met Clarence Houston in Greenwood, Arkansas. Billie & Clarence fell in love and married in 1992. After a few years in Arkansas, Billie & Clarence moved to Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma where they spent the next 20+ years raising Tiffany and running their own businesses. Billie was a longtime member of Keys Baptist Church in Keys, OK, and enjoyed a spiritual closeness with the Lord. In 2019, Billie & Clarence moved briefly to Spring Branch, Texas, so that she could be closer to her daughter and her grandson, Robert. After four years in Texas, they returned to Clarence’s childhood hometown of Wilburton, OK.

Billie was quick to make close friends at every job she held throughout her career. Holding a degree in accounting from Northeastern State University, Billie worked various accounting roles at manufacturing plants and most recently in the energy sector, a field that she loved as she felt she was carrying on the legacy of her hardworking father who helped build the oil pipeline in Alaska. She kept in touch with many of her work friends over the years, as well as childhood friends dating all the way back to elementary school. She was truly one of the sweetest, kindest, and funniest souls you could ever meet. She had a tender heart for animals, especially her dogs, chickens, and goats. She enjoyed getting outdoors and living the rural life at a slower pace but was always up for an adventure.

Billie is preceded in death by her parents: Bill and Martilla Saulsberry; her brothers: Corbet Smith, Carl Smith and Don Smith; and her sisters: Doris Hern and Jenny Kort. She is survived by her husband of 32 years, Lee Houston of Wilburton, OK, her daughter, Tiffany Ketchel, and grandson, Robert Galindo IV, both of San Antonio, TX, and three sisters- Claudene Christian (ID), Linda Barnett (AK), and Pat Saulsberry (OK).

Memorial services will be held at Waldrop Funeral Home in Wilburton, OK with visitation on Sunday, January 28 at 1-2 pm for family and 2-4 pm for friends, and a funeral service on Monday, January 29 at 2:00 pm.