Billie Bukowski

FORT WORTH -- Billie Irene Bukowski, a lifelong Fort Worth resident, reached the end of her adventure in this world and, surrounded by loved ones, slipped into another Thursday, April 10, 2014.
Memorials: In lieu of flowers, friends and relatives are encouraged to make a donation to Lakewood Village, 5100 Randol Mill Road, Fort Worth, Texas 76112.
Billie was born in Fort Worth on Dec. 6, 1927, the youngest of three intelligent, eccentric and spirited Bukowski sisters. She eventually became the older sister to three brothers. Her father had died before she was born, leaving the family in bitter poverty during the Great Depression. Coping admirably with hardship and deprivation, Billie grew into a woman who was strong in both spirit and character and expansive in both her physique and her personality. She graduated from Polytechnic High School in 1945 and worked at both Retail Merchants Association of Fort Worth and Convair, which later became General Dynamics, before taking a position in the print shop at Bell Helicopter, where she was employed for over 35 years.
Billie never married, but she always lived near her siblings, and she may have broken a record for the number of people who claim her as a second mother, including many of her nieces and nephews and even great-nieces and great-nephews. Billie had a gift for teaching children how to tie their shoes, ride a bicycle, throw out a fishing line, drive a car with standard transmission and sing the blues. She wore blue jeans long before they were fashionable and insisted on equal rights long before other women had them. She was known for her optimism; her spirit of adventure; her strong moral convictions; her practical jokes; her formidable Scrabble game; her contagious smile; her super-hot bean dip; her retentive nature; her enthusiasm for fishing; her passion for babies, children, birds, flowers and all things in nature; and her love of rhythm and blues music, especially Ella Fitzgerald. Even more importantly, she was known for valuing what is most important in life and for loving others whole-heartedly and unconditionally.
Survivors: Billie is survived by her brothers, John and Robert Paul, and their children, as well as many nieces, nephews and their offspring in the Byther, Mathis, Paul, Tautfest and Wisian clans. No one who knew Billie was unchanged by the experience. Her spirit lives on in the many lives she touched.

Winscott Road Funeral Home
Benbrook, 817-249-1177
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www.star-telegram.com/obituaries

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