James J. Billings

Dr. James J. Billings of Las Cruces, N.M. passed away on March 11, 2011. He was born in Little Rock, Ark., on July 21, 1920 to Lewis Elijah and Margaret Billings and grew up on a farm a few miles south of Little Rock. At the age of 16, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to support the family. While in the CCC, he worked in Marble Creek, Idaho, Missoula, Mont., and North Little Rock, Ark. After returning home, he graduated as Valedictorian from Mabelvale (Arkansas) High School. Following graduation, he worked at a sawmill and, later, as a railroad brakeman. Jim joined the US Navy shortly following the start of WWII, where he served as an Electrician's Mate aboard the USS Requisite and saw combat in the Gilbert Islands, participating in the battle of Tarawa. He was assigned to the USS Attu in mid-1944 and spent the last five months of the war receiving advanced electronics training in Washington, D.C. After WWII, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., where he completed his Bachelor's Degree in physics in 1948. He then entered the physics program at the University of Chicago and completed his Master's Degree in physics at Oklahoma University in 1950. From 1950 through 1954, Jim worked as a nuclear physicist at the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in Silver Spring, Md., and for the National Bureau of Standards Cryogenic Engineering Laboratory in Boulder, Colo. He also worked on nuclear-powered aircraft design concepts for Consolidated-Vultec Aircraft in Ft. Worth, Texas. In 1954, he left industry to pursue a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas. He graduated in 1958 and continued his nuclear physics research at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M. He took a six-month leave in 1962 to travel throughout (Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Brazil). Upon his return, he married his long-time sweetheart, Miriam Longfield. Dr. and Mrs. Billings moved to Fresno, Calif., where he had accepted a position as a physics professor at Fresno State University. wo years later, shortly after the birth of their only child, Karen, the family moved to Quito, Ecuador, where he taught physics at Universidad Central de Quito (Central University of Quito) under the auspices of the Alianza para el Progreso (Alliance for Progress). Following his return to the US, he was a physics professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Ariz. He then obtained an advanced degree in Finance, specializing in Risk Management, after which the family moved to Harrison, Ark., where he taught physics at North Arkansas Community College. He retired to Del Rio, Texas in 1982, where he was an active member of First United Methodist Church and the Cactus Twirlers square dance club. He enjoyed traveling with his wife and participated on several Volunteers in Mission groups under the auspices of the United Methodist Church. One of his proudest accomplishments was his role in the construction and ongoing support of the Nueva Fuente de Vida (New Fountain of Life) children's home in Ciudad Acuña, across the Mexican border from Del Rio. Jim and Miriam moved to Las Cruces, N.M., in 2001, where they became active members of St. Paul's United Methodist Church and the Blue Belles square dance club. Jim was a devoted husband and a loving father. He was predeceased by his parents and by Miriam Billings, his wife of over 48 years. He was also preceded in death by his brother Lewis W. Billings, his niece Martha Anne Billings, his half-brother Claude Earl Billings, and his two half-sisters, Hazel Sullivan and Myrtle Cellaier. Survivors include his daughter, Karen S. Billings, of Las Cruces, N.M., two brothers, David Billings (Nora) and John Billings (Diana), both of Little Rock, Ark., and one sister-in-law, Martha Billings, of Russellville, Ark. He is survived by five nieces and nephews: Lewis W. Billings Jr., David Billings Jr., Regina Ford, Larry Billings, and Darin Billings, and by numerous great-nieces and nephews. A memorial service to celebrate Jim's life will be held in the Health Care Center Chapel at the Good Samaritan Society-Las Cruces Village on Friday, March 18 at 2 p.m., with Rev. Joan Swanson officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Billings Nursing Scholarship Endowment at the Good Samaritan Society-Las Cruces Village (3025 Terrace Drive, Las Cruces, N.M. 88011) would be appreciated. Arrangements by Getz Funeral Home and Getz Family Crematory corner of Solano and Bowman Ave., Las Cruces, N.M. 526-2419. To sign the online guestbook go to www.GetzCares.com.