Billie Ruth Gregory

Billie Ruth Gregory September 15, 1958, to January 14, 2024

Thank you all so much for being here, for my momma, and our family. She would have loved to have spent more time, I am sure as we all do, with each of you.

I found out myself I was going to be a mom, just as my momma's health decline really began. And that’s kind of sad, having something for her to look forward to and enjoy in her retired years. But it made me really think a lot differently than I had in the past. Especially about the momma you have, and how much I really loved mine more than I even knew.

I began to understand the 26-year-old, who was born to an Army man and a teen mom, in Tennessee. The young new mom who barely had a thing to go on, as far as biology went, who was determined to be ever so good to her own child. She ironed my clothes, dressed me with ribbons, and made sure I was ahead of the kindergarten class day 1. She packed lunches for 12 years, put notes in them to remind me how deeply she loved me. Provided enough Barbies and time with me to drive a late 20’s something insane.

What I wouldn’t give to play Barbies with her one more time.

I began to understand her, we became friends as I matured and as she confided in me. It would only be as a mother, would I realize just how hard this would be for her at that time, and really appreciate the battles she fought mentally and emotionally to keep on going.

I now understand the late 30’s mom of a teenager, losing her own mother. How hard it was to even breathe, with the weight of the world on her shoulders and the snow at her feet.

The first 12 days of this year, I got to understand a woman of 65 who loved deeply, and so desperately wanted you to feel and know this. Her biggest sadness was what she was leaving behind, the amount this woman tried for her family, was unending, and her love and value unimaginable.

I now know what it’s like to wake up in a world where my momma isn’t available anymore. I now understand what it’s like to be without my momma. I understand now that there is no love like that of a mother, and I know now how much my momma loved me. My heart aches as it beats on without her.

As my dad and I let go of my momma's hand one last time, I understood what it was like to be a mother, who has just lost her own momma. The new mom who barely had a thing to go on, as far as biology went, and who is determined to be ever so good to her own child, just like my momma.

Unfortunately, we did not have current life insurance. No obligation but if you wish to contribute to the memorial and burial fund please do so here:

https://gofund.me/624682a3