Billy Trimyer

Billy Joe Trimyer passed away on Thursday Sept. 23 after a long battle with kidney failure. Billy loved road trips so it is fitting that he slipped away while riding back home from a trip to New Braunfels.

Born in Aransas Pass on April 16, 1943 he is survived by his wife Carol and two sons Robert and Joey and their families. Robert is married to Jessica and Joey is married to Rachel. Billy had one grandson, Jordan, who is the son of Rachel and Joey.

People who knew Billy remarked on his work ethic and devotion to family. Part of that devotion to family included managing construction projects for various extended family members. Billy also loved to cook. He was never happier than when there was a group of people to feed and he could spend the day in the kitchen planning a meal that would make everyone happy. His son Joey recalls a time when Billy planned one of his seafood feasts and found out that one of the people coming couldn’t eat seafood. Billy immediately took a thick cut pork chop to thaw and started work on stuffing from scratch. He ended up creating a whole separate meal for one person because the seafood sides didn’t go with a stuffed pork chop. Billy wasn’t a big talker, but food was his way of showing love.

Robert and Joey both achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in no small part because of Billy’s support. Once a month, Billy would drive their scout troop on a campout, and even spent a week every summer sweating at Camp Karankawa. There were probably more fun ways to spend a week’s vacation, but Billy wanted to make sure that not only his sons, but the other boys in the troop had the opportunity to learn and advance. One summer, Billy went to an Order of the Arrow function and complained about the food. The kitchen manager told him “if you think you can do better on this budget, help yourself.” Billy recruited a crew of parents who continually one-upped themselves with their culinary feats. OA groups from around the state would come to Camp K for weekends at least partly because they’d heard the food was top notch.

Billy was a hard worker and fiercely protective of his work crews. A member of his work crew recounted a time when they were working double overtime to get the plant running again during a shutdown. Billy had told everyone to take a nap when his phone rang. One of the bigwigs wanted him to send someone to fix the air conditioner in the administration building. Billy explained that his crew was resting, and that during a shutdown the priority was getting the plant running again. The bigwig responded “it’s hot in here, what am I supposed to do?” Billy replied “open a window” and hung up the phone. A few moments later, the crew noticed he slipped out with a toolbox to fix the air conditioner while they got their rest.

Billy loved his siblings, especially his sister Bootie. The two of them would team up to beat all comers in whatever card or domino game you would name. Bootie also loved to cook and host family gatherings. Once they were both experimenting with electric woks and had so many things going in the kitchen that they tripped a breaker. Billy had done the wiring in his sister’s house and was able to figure out where to plug everything in to keep the cooking going. At one point, they had food being prepared in the kitchen, the dining room, and the guest bathroom.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to their local food bank. Billy loved to feed people and it would make him happy to help people in need.

Pall Bearers will be: Gorman Warren, James Warren, Michael Warren, Fred Trimyer, Clay Hepburn, Joshua Warren