Alma "Billye" Helfer

Born Alma Louise Mings, but to all who knew her, she was Billye. Life in her tiny town of Whitesboro, OK, was Much like a scene from Little House on the Prairie. With just a general store, a few churches and a post office, Billye and her 4 sisters, Bonnie, Lee, Cotten and Tommy, had to use their imaginations for keeping themselves busy; but they seemed to manage just fine. Their stories are from another time, a world we know so little of today.

All the girls, except Cotten, left their little town and headed to California. Their stories read much like a country western song, leaving home, finding love, and having babies. Mom was the baby of the family, and left OK at 18. While living with her sisters and husbands, she worked at a Thrifty Drug store as a cashier, and met my Dad, Morty Helfer, who was the manager at the time. Dad had eyes for Mom right away, which is understandable. Mom was not only a beauty on the outside, but she was equally as beautiful on the inside. She was sweet, kind, had a soft voice which still held a bit of her Oklahoma accent, and she had a smile that was warm and inviting to anyone she met. Dad asked Mom out to go dancing, but Mom said no because it was company policy not to date fellow employees. Well, Dad got himself transferred, and suddenly, Mom must have sensed this Morty was something special. So they went dancing, and within a few months, they were engaged and married soon after.

They were so sweet together, a love much like the movie, The Notebook. They grew up together, Mom at 19 and Dad at 24, and went from young love, to discover the beauty of true love. They had their first child, Deborah, after being married five years, and had their second child, Lori, five years later. Dad worked at Sears selling appliances and later managing the television department. Mom worked hard being wife, housekeeper, and Mom, and she did all of them beautifully. Mom was a great cook/baker, and we were spoiled with all her good cooking and homemade desserts. What they lacked in wealth, they more than made up for in their love and commitment to each other and their girls. They didn’t require fancy things, but growing up, I thought we had far more than we really did. Mom was brilliant at saving, between coupon clipping, buying clothes and things for the house at local Goodwill store and yard sales, and of course, items on sale wherever she could. Dad was always looking for a better deal, something he learned all to well from his Mom. Honestly, I felt like a princess, and couldn’t believe how little they actually lived on when Mom told me later when I was older.

Mom and Dad lived a simple, contented life. They didn’t require a lot of things, but were extremely rich in their love for each other. They loved to go on drives to anywhere…just to be together. And of course, they always seemed to manage finding a good place to eat, and indulge in a good dessert. They nursed each other through each others ailments, held each others hearts through their trials, and held respect for each other. When Dad passed at 79, we didn’t think Mom would last much longer after his passing. But Mom went on for 20 more years, gaining son in laws, Dave Ray and Ted Gill, a handsome grandson, Dylan, who married his sweetheart, Jina, and becoming a Great Grandma to Zoe and Shane.

How lucky my sister and I were, to have these two love birds for our parents. Please don’t get me wrong, we were not a perfect family by a far stretch, but what we always had is the commitment of our parents love. Their home was where we all felt accepted and safe, the place we could land and not be turned away. They were always there for us, and no matter what our circumstances, they continued to love us and nurture us back to where we needed to be. When our Dad proposed to Mom he said, “I love Jesus, I love God, I want to have children, and I want to marry you.” And that’s exactly what the two of them did so beautifully together.

Dad and Mom are now having their “first dance” together again, dancing on the clouds in Heaven.

Until we meet again,

We love you more,

Your family