My Dear Billy. My Best Friend.

Sometimes, God takes over your life.


I realized that in the summer of 2002. I was searching for a part time job, and I was 2 months pregnant with Ashton.


I gave my Aunt my resume at church one Sunday. She accidentally left it on a church pew and a few days later I received a phone call from the Associate Minister wanting to know when I wanted to come in for an interview.


I tried to explain to him that I wasn't applying for the church secretary job but he insisted I come in and interview....his rationale was they needed a part time secretary and I needed a part time job. This was God stepping into my life, putting  me firmly where He wanted me to be and I couldn't argue with God.


So, I  found myself working there as a church secretary for several years, and I loved it. Truly loved it.


The absolute BEST thing to happen to me while working at First Christian was meeting someone who became my best friend, my partner in crime (as we both loved playing pranks).


It didn't matter to me that Billy Keene was a good 30 plus years my senior, or that he walked with a cane, or that he could be a little grumpy in the morning if I didn't have his Pepsi waiting. Billy became my best friend.


What I loved about Billy was that he would try anything. No fear. He even mastered (sort of) the new fancy phone system our church had put in (no easy feat, it was hard). He learned to use a computer. At one time he was responsible for printing out and cutting all of the birthday's for our Children's Ministry (over 50 birthday's a month!). He moved into my office and we were a team. He helped me thru some rough times. Billy had my back. I grew to love him tremendously.


Billy's faith was rock solid. His favorite hymn was "Victory in Jesus". He loved to hum it while he worked and I loved to listen to him as he did. We were a perfect pair and we were happiest when locked away in our office working for God.


He was a huge DUKE fan, major plus,  and we liked to give the UNC ministers on staff a hard time...even if DUKE wasn't having a winning season. The way me & Billy carried on, you would have thought DUKE was winning.


He walked with a cane and if you got in his way, he would lightly (sometimes not lightly) give you a tap with it. 


My mornings were made better because of him. 


Billy was a one man Church Army recruiter. He brought more people, other seniors, into our Church office to volunteer than anyone I had ever known. And he put them to work. Billy saved our church hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years because of his volunteering and the others he brought into the church to volunteer. He was my hero.


And he would put them to work, stuffing and folding bulletins every Friday. It was like a weekly party to Billy. He loved being surrounded by friends and fellow followers.


One thing that stands out to me was how Billy could interact with Tate. When Tate was 2, before the seizures started, we were seeing a child therapist thinking he may have Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism). Tate didn't interact with people, he didn't talk much.


But he did with Billy. Billy would always talk loudly and directly to Tate. He would say, "Tate, give me high 5", and Tate would comply. He would say. "Tate, put it in the hole" and he would hold his hand out and Tate would place his tiny hand into Billy's. This interaction was HUGE. And to this day Tate remembers that.



As all good things must come to an end, so did my time at FCC&A in the spring of 2006. It was bittersweet for both of us. We knew our special bond would survive even if I wasn't working there but it never was quite the same. But I was proud of him. He kept at his work and my mom, who also worked there, took him under her wing and he flourished even more...even getting his own computer to do work on!


Still, I knew Billy loved me and I loved him and that would never change.


Billy came to Papa Bud's viewing and he knew how much that meant to me. Papa also knew how special Billy was to me. How blessed am I to have had the love and support of two Godly men like that?


I saw Billy this summer. He was frail and in a wheelchair but as I approached him, a big smile broke out on his sweet face. "I love you, Billy Keene and don't you forget it" I told him. "I love you, too" he said and then he told Tate to "Put in in the hole, Tate!" And Tate did.


I got word last night that Billy was in Hospice and they aren't giving him long. Part of me is crushed with sadness, but the other part of me is so happy for him.


He will finally be rewarded with that "Victory in Jesus" he has long sung about.


My Dear Sweet Billy, 
Promise me that you will be one of the first to welcome me home on my sweet day, and save me a desk in your new heavenly office. 
I love you and will miss you every day until I see your sweet, happy face again.
Love, Trinity


My best friend was over 70 years old. And we were quite a team!