Billie Ray Morton

Billie Ray was born on June 28, 1929 in Muskogee, OK to Ramon and Esther Morton. At the age of 16, Billie Ray joined the Army and served proudly for 21 years and is a veteran of WWII. On April 15, 1955 Billie Ray married the love of his life, Floortje "Florence" Hessels in Amsterdam and they raised four lovely daughters. Upon his retirement from the Army the family moved to Alexandria, VA where he worked for the 3M Company. He retired from the 3M Company in 1986. In 1991 Billie Ray and Florence moved to Havelock, NC after spending time in Elkhart, IN and Monroe, MI. In his retirement Billie Ray enjoyed being an amateur HAM radio operator and spending time with his family. In his opinion Bob Wills, the king of Texas swing, was the only musician worth listening to. He had a deep love for his church and his church family.

He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Floortje "Florence" Morton as well as his parents.

Billie Ray is survived by his daughters, Maria Calhoun (Roger) of Romulus, MI, Lillian Blalock of Monroe, MI, Terry Morton of the home, Shirley Raybuck (John) of Alexandria, VA, and Katherine Nirganakis of Detroit, MI; two sisters, Betty BelleIsle of Petersburg, VA and Barbara Carpenter of Laurel, MD; grandchildren, James, Robbie, Michelle, Kathleen, Adriana, Billie, Kevin, Mark Jr., Aaron, and Chelsea; great-grandchildren, Josh, Kristen, Halie, Taylor, Nicholas, Cory, John Jr., Thomas, Angel, Christiaan, Nixie, Nikko, Sarah, Mark III, and Bradley, and great-great grandchildren, Nathan, Alexander, McKenzie, Jeffrey, Evan, Jaylynn, and Justin.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Friday, January 11, 2019 at Cotten Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at Cherry Point Baptist Church in Havelock. Billie Ray will be laid to rest in Forest Oaks Memorial Gardens with full military honors following the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Billie Ray's name be made to the Cherry Point Baptist Church Building Fund or to the charity of your choice.