Billy C. Mingus' Obituary
Billy C. Mingus was born November 11, 1928, and he passed away peacefully at the age of 89 on February 6, 2018.Billy was born to parents William Goddard and Bessie Burge Mingus in Paducah, Kentucky, he was the oldest of their three children. At an early age, they moved to Lebanon, Tennessee, where he lived until he was 18 years old. At that time, he enlisted in the Army, serving two separate terms – 1946-1948; then he was recalled to the Korean War, serving from 1950-1951 in the Signal Corp until being honorably discharged from the Army as a Corporal. He graduated from Emory University in 1953 with a B.A. in Mathematics.Billy later moved to California where, upon agreeing to try dance lessons one last time, he met his wife Anne, who was his teacher. They were married on April 21, 1957, spending their honeymoon in Carmel, California, returning each year to celebrate their anniversary. In the early days of their marriage, they moved around the country for his job, at the time with Philco Ford, eventually settling down in Los Altos, California. They moved from Los Altos to Groveland, California (Pine Mountain Lake) in 1995 to live closer to their other special place, Yosemite National Park. They visited Yosemite every year since 1957 especially to celebrate Christmas, which became known as Mingus Yosemite Christmas and the Yosemite Elves would visit every year. Also while living in Pine Mountain Lake, Billy rekindled his love of theater by performing with the Pine Cone Players in many a melodrama.Billy was a humble man, a man who made you laugh and think, always willing to lend an ear, to console, give advice, a man who cared deeply, laughed loudly, was a protective big brother, actor, poet, a doting Granddad and Opa – he loved his wife and family with every ounce of his being.Billy is survived by his beloved Anne, his dancing partner of 60+ years, as well as the four Ks – his four children, Kimberly Rhodes (and son-in-law Greg), Karl Mingus, Keri Mingus, and Kory Mingus (and daughter-in-law Elvira Hooijmaaijer), and his four grandchildren – Evan Rhodes, Jennifer Rhodes, Chloe Barton (Keri’s daughter), and Femke Mingus.Thank you for coming to Billy’s Celebration of Life service today. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation in his name to the charity of your choice.
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