Billy Joe Devers

Funeral services for Billy Joe Devers, 75, of Valley View, are set for 11:00 AM Friday, August 14, 2020 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Denton with the Rev. Tim Thompson officiating and Deacon Barry Sweedon assisting. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery under the direction of the Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home. A rosary followed by a visitation will be held at 6:00 PM Thursday, August 13, 2020 at the Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home.

Billy was born on June 26, 1945 in Gainesville to Joe R. Devers and Adeline Sophie (Knabe) Devers. He passed away on August 10, 2020 in Greenville.

Billy married Margie Hesse at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Muenster on June 14, 1975. He served in the U.S. Army during Vietnam from 1967-1968.

About a year after Billy and Margie were married, he joined his dad, Joe Devers, in the dairy business. As the family grew, they built a house on the farm, 3 miles south of Valley View, the place where Billy grew up. Billy always enjoyed the work, which allowed him to be his own boss and enjoy the fresh country air. The daily routine of morning and evening milking was the framework for the endless jobs necessary in maintaining the constant flow of milk which the AMPI trucks demanded daily. Plowing, planting and harvesting the hay, equipment breakdowns which required knowledge, experience and skill to repair, all of which were contained in his memory and in his hands (and sometimes in the John Deere tractor manual) was his expertise. Freezing cold winters, rain, blistering summers never deterred him from his work. He had a family to support and in turn as they grew older, his children learned the routine of the farm helping their dad milk the cows, feed the calves, and taking on some of the farm work as best they could. Billy was a jack of all trades and master of many. He had a natural inclination toward anything mechanical. He could overhaul a tractor engine, shingle a roof (which he did himself many times, and over the course of the years), maintain and run a chainsaw like a lumberjack, and do just about anything that needed to be done. He would find a way to get the job done.

In 1998 the dairy was sold, and Billy found employment working as a ranch maintenance "expert". Expert referring to the fact that most anything he encountered on the job, he had a solution for. After years of experience on the farm, there weren't many challenges on the ranch that he hadn't encountered before on his own farm on Lone Oak Road.

Billy was a kind, honest, and faithful man who loved his family and above all, who loved his God, the Lord, Jesus Christ. He was a diligent, persevering soul who was an example to us to never give up, and to keep on trying even through trials, fire and disappointments. We will miss him, but there is a part of him in each of us, in our hearts, that will remain forever.

Billy is survived by his wife Margie Devers of Valley View; son Jason Devers of Sherman; daughter Diana Roberts of Corvallis, OR; son Matthew Devers of Valley View; granddaughter Brooke Devers Jennings and her husband David of San Antonio; and granddaughter Mikayla Hesse of Muenster. He is also survived by his sister Victoria Newton and her husband Nathan; and brother Lee Devers and his wife Rebecca all of Valley View; mother-in-law Ethel Hesse of Muenster; sister-in-law Joan Golaz and her husband Charles of Paradise; sister-in-law Tina Waltersheid and her husband Bert of Muenster; brother-in-law Bert Hesse and his wife Christy of Muenster; brother-in-law Mark Hesse and his wife Melanie of Muenster; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter Barbara Devers; and brother Daniel Devers.