Billy Joe Priest

Billy Joe Priest was born in Saigon, Vietnam on January 18, 1975 to his mother Le Thi Priest and father Roy Hubert Priest. Billy’s childhood was primarily spent in Weatherford, Texas, where he played baseball and football throughout school. His father passed away when he was 10 from cancer, and his mother passed away in a car accident in 1993 when he was only 17 years old. Through the support of his very close high school friends and their families, especially Darren Clark and his sister Molly, Billy was able to finish high school and begin to put his life back together. It is impossible to think about Billy without recalling how good he made people feel with his mixed brand of humor, empathy, and gifted story-telling. He knew just the right thing to say or a good story to tell to lighten everyone’s day. Billy spent 18 years as an IT professional at Pioneer Natural Resources and recently joined the Basic Energy team, where he was known and loved as a friend and colleague who could bring people together through kindness, teamwork, and most of all a quick wit that could dispel any situation with a laugh. Billy’s passions outside of work were many. He loved fishing, golfing, and smoking BBQ, but most of all, he loved spending time with his children, grandchildren, and wife. His favorite way to show his love was through sharing his passion for food with family, friends, and strangers. No matter if it was cooking for everyone or giving away all the crappie he caught that day to total strangers, it brought him immense joy . Having grown up without his dad since the age of 10, Billy knew just how hard it was to not have a dad around to teach him life lessons. That’s why he took it upon himself to give guidance and love to those who needed it most. He was honored to be known by many as “Dad” and will be forever missed by all. Billy is survived by his wife, Christine Priest, his daughters: Ashlynn Priest, Natalie Priest, Brooklyn Priest, Haylee Ford, sons: Noah Ford, Christian Ford, Blake Wampler and his wife Ashleigh, Lemuel Romero, grandson Oliver Wampler, granddaughters Savannah and Lilly Acker, bonus children: Noah Lane and Brenda Cortes, his sister Kim Wiley and husband Eric, nieces: Jackie Wilkerson and husband Courtney, Kimberly Shepherd and husband Andy, Lauren Wiley and fiancé Hank Tullis, and by his fur babies: Cain and Buddha. In lieu of flowers the Priest family will like donations to be made to the 22KILL Organization on behalf of Billy Priest.