On July 19, 2020 Billie Jo (Parsley) Richards, loving Mother and Grandmother passed away in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 85. Born on October 16, 1934 in Port Arthur, Texas to William (Billy) Parsley and Pauline Pannill, Billie Jo moved to Rio Vista at age 13 and lived with her family on a dairy farm until graduating Valedictorian of her class at Rio Vista High School. On January 30, 1954, Billie Jo married Wallace (Buddy) Richards in Cleburne. They raised 3 daughters together in Burleson and were married until 1986 when Buddy passed away. In 1991, Billie Jo married Bobbie Sims and resided in Granbury until he preceded her in death in 2015.
Billie Jo worked for 47 years at Williamson-Dickies in Fort Worth in Customer Service, Sales and Marketing. Traveling the world was a passion and she especially loved traveling with family or friends to New York City and Jamaica. Billie Jo had a desire for connecting with other strong women and made friends in book clubs, networking groups, an investment club, a western writers group, AA and Alanon, many times a leader and always a loyal member. She considered it a mission to promote women in the business world and was a mentor to many. Forward thinking for her generation, she generously supported many causes such as Planned Parenthood and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Billie Jo (JoJo) will be remembered for her steadfastness, generosity and cheerfulness. She was a truly authentic person who believed that everything happened for a reason and worked out for the best in the end.
Survived by her daughters and their husbands, Cheryl and Don Harper of Arlington, Kathy and Dale Jensen of Dallas, and Carolyn and Vance Newland of Duncanville. She is also survived by six grandchildren, Callie Klump and husband Jeff of Scottsdale, Arizona, Zachary Newland and wife Suzanne of Evergreen, Colorado, Rachel Perez and husband Beto of Duncanville, Rebecca Newland of Frisco, Anna Jensen of Dallas and Elizabeth Jensen of Dallas; and 5 great grandchildren.
Donations in memory of Billie Jo and her love of reading can be made to the Burleson Public Library at this website. Burlesontx.com/211/friends-of-the-library