Billy Williamson

ESSEX, Mo. -- Billy Marion Williamson, 82, of Essex died Monday, April 11, 2005, at Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston.

He was born July 1, 1922, in Essex, son of Roy Harry and Minnie Lee Crutcher Williamson. He and Wilma Ruth Dunn were married May 28, 1943, in Richmond, Va.

Williamson was a 1941 graduate of Essex High School. He had been a spray pilot, farmer, worked in the tax division of Missouri Department of Revenue, and served as Stoddard County public administrator.

A sergeant in the U.S. Army, he served three years with the 82nd Airborne Paratroopers during World War II in the Rome-Arno, Normandy, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns. He was awarded five Bronze Service Stars, two Purple Hearts, and the Good Conduct Medal.

Survivors include two sons, Mark Williamson of Gonzales, La., Billy Williamson of Essex; two daughters, Sharon Platipodis of St. Louis, Vicki Dobson of Cape Girardeau; a brother, Estel Williamson of Essex; a sister, Pat Quattlebaum of Cleburne, Texas; eight grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by an infant daughter, a brother and a sister.

Friends may call at Watkins and Sons Funeral Home in Dexter, Mo., from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Doyle Corlew officiating. Burial will be in Essex Cemetery, with full military honors by Stoddard County Veterans Honor Team.