Billy "Gunslinger" Gene Whitton

Funeral services for Billy Gene "Gunslinger" Whitton, 76, of Etoile will be held at 1:00pm on Friday, March 28, 2025, at Laird Funeral Home officiated by Rev. Tim Fuller and Rev. Brandon Rankin. Interment will follow at Blue Springs Cemetery in Etoile. A visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00pm on Thursday, March 27, 2025, at Laird Funeral Home. Billy Gene passed away on March 23, 2025, in Etoile surrounded by his family. He was born on July 21, 1948, in Center to the late Samuel Elijah and Etta Mae (Hillyer) Whitton.

Billy Gene joined the Army when he was 19 years old. He attended basic training at Fort Polk. Billy Gene opted to spend more time in Vietnam so that he could go home sooner. Shortly after coming home, he and the love of his life, Brenda Cook, ran off to get married. They were married on December 10, 1970. Together they spent 54 years building a life and family together. Billy Gene was a man of few words but could turn on you in a minute if you made him mad. Growing up, all the kids knew Dad meant business when he would clear his throat and give them that look. Billy Gene loved his family and took pleasure in watching it grow. He and Brenda took in many children who needed them during hard times in their lives. They were known to be kind and caring. Billy Gene made a career out of his love for driving trucks. He passed that love on to his boys, and they have followed in his footsteps. Billy Gene had a love of the outdoors and spent many hours hunting and fishing. He wasn’t a churchgoer, but he loved the Lord. Billy was a Master Mason at Homer Lodge #254 in Huntington.

Billy Gene is survived by his wife, Brenda Cook Whitton; daughter, Bridgett Linam and husband, Bryant; sons, Sam Whitton and wife, Traci, David Whitton, and J.R. Whitton; grandchildren, Heather Cogburn and husband, Chris, Amanda Mora and husband, Lewis, Bry Anna Linam, Montana Whitton and wife, Brooke, Dakota Whitton and wife, Joah, Trent Whitton and wife, Shanna, Ashton Whitton and wife, Sydney, Justin Whitton and wife, Brittany, and Jaren Whitton; great-grandchildren, Aiden, Millie, Andie Jo, Maverick, Lathan, Sophia, Kinley, Kylie, Mandy, Abby, Trenton, Parker, Jensen, Sawyer, Lily, Huntleigh, Grace, and Avery; sister, Erma Whitton Harvey; sisters-in-law, Bobbie, Wanda, Linda, Gwenda and husband Roy, Jean, Rhonda, Julia and husband Kent, and Sherron Cook; and brother-in-law, Elvin.

He is preceded in death by his granddaughter, Ellie Grace Whitton; parents, Samuel and Etta Mae (Hillyer) Whitton; sisters, Myrtle Lee Layton and husband, Gradis Eugene, Luree and husband Johnie Humphreys; parents-in-law, Hoyt L. and Clara (Pyle) Cook; brothers-in-law, Robert Grady Molandes and Robert Cook.

Serving as pallbearers will be his grandsons, Montana, Dakota, Trent, Justin, Ashton, and Jaren Whitton.

Honorary pallbearers are Bryant Linam, Lewis Mora, Chris Cogburn, Aiden, Parker, Jensen, Sawyer, Trenton, Maverick Whitton, and Lathan Mora.

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