Billy E. Riley

A Memorial Service for Mr. Riley will be conducted at George J. Carroll and Son Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, beginning at 11:00 a.m. George J. Carroll and Son will conduct a Graveside Service at the Hibbitt Cemetery with military honors at a later date.

Bill was born in the Callisburg Community on June 2, 1933. The son of a School Superintendent and Homemaker; E.J. Riley and Florence (Chisum) Riley.

He spent his early childhood in the Walnut Bend / Dexter communities where his maternal great grandparents were early settlers, his family moved to Gainesville in 1946 where he graduated from Gainesville High School in 1951.

In January 1963 Bill was introduced to wife to be Sherley Bacon, they were married May 3, 1965. After a honeymoon in the Bahamas they returned to Gainesville and designed and built their home that they still enjoy after many years. After being blessed with the birth of a son Bradley in 1970 and daughter Nicole 1971, life took on a different meaning. Years later the family was blessed further with two awesome grandchildren; Olivia Riley and Seth Biller, one blessed family with lots of great memories. Bill was very proud of his family and loved them deeply; he looked forward to their Family Gathering each summer at Broken Bow, Oklahoma.

Drafted into the Army during the last months of the Korean War, Bill served in the Free Territory of Trieste; with the elite "TRUST' regiment, (Trieste U.S. Troops); released from active duty in 1955; served in the inactive reserve for six years; discharged in 1961.

After returning home from the military service Bill joined National Supply; starting with the original twenty one employees that started up the machine shop. Bill spent six years working the evening shift as a production machinist and attending college during the day; graduating from Gainesville College in 1957 and North Texas State University in 1961 with an Industrial Technology Degree and a Texas Teachers Certificate.

Bill was promoted to the Industrial Engineer Department as a Technician after college; he rose through the ranks of the company as a Certified Manufacturing Engineer. With the exception of a twelve month assignment to a new National Supply/Armco Plant in Maracaibo, Venezuela in 1979 and a thirty month assignment to a new National Supply/Armco Plant in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada in 1982 and a few short assignments to a National Supply/Armco Plant in Monterrey, Mexico in 1985. After that, time was spent at the National Supply/Armco Plant in Gainesville, retiring in January 1987 as a Senior Manufacturing Engineer after thirty two year of service.

After retiring from National Supply/Armco, Bill accepted a personal contract with Armco/Equipetrol, Division of Armco Steel Inc. for one year as a Consultant on the transfer of machinery and manufacturing technology to an Armco/Equipetrol Plant in Salvador, Brazil.

The last ten years of Bill's career was spent working from his home office in Gainesville for Production Tool Sales as a Sales Representative developing a customer base outside of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, in the North Texas and Southern Oklahoma Territory. Bill's final retirement was June 1998.

Bill was extremely active in his community, member of the First Presbyterian Church since 1968, Senior Past Master of the Gainesville Masonic Lodge #210, past District Deputy Grand Master of the 85th Masonic District, and after retirement, served as secretary of the Gainesville Lodge for seventeen years, endowed member of Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, life membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 1922, resident of the Nascoga Federal Credit Union in 1963, president of the Gainesville Breakfast Optimist Club in 1964, secretary of Toastmaster Club in 1966, president of the Texoma Chapter of American Petroleum Institute in 1970, president of National Supply Management Club in 1985 and taught night classes in blue print reading and industrial math at the local college when they first started their Industrial Technology Department.

Bill had many different hobbies and interest through the years, they seemed to change as the years passed. He enjoyed hunting rabbits with his beagles the most, others included water skiing, flying, camping, gardening, and at different times, raising bantam chickens, bobwhite quails and white doves, but always felt the presence of God and at peace with the world while in the woods with his dogs observing nature and wildlife.

Survivors include; wife Sherley, son Bradley and wife Regina of Fort Worth, daughter Nicole Biller and husband Steven of Whitesboro, grandchildren Olivia Riley and Seth Biller, sisters Kathryn Hunter of Gainesville, Mary Sue Camp of Dallas and numerous nieces and nephews.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, brothers James and Roy of Gruver, Texas; sister Margaret Sparkman of Pampa, Texas. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to Noah's Ark Animal Shelter, 2501 North Weaver Street, Gainesville, Texas 76240 or Hibbitt Cemetery: Karen Shauf 1701 E FM 922, Valley View, Texas 76272.

Thank you for your support.