Billie Lynne Potts-Hendrix was born April 7, 1953, in Ada, Oklahoma to Edward and Nayoma Webb-Potts. She passed from this life on September 6, 2021, in Ada at the tender age of 68. Billie graduated high school from Savanna, OK, where she met her first husband, Guy Duerson. They had one daughter together, Misty Dawn Duerson-Potter. Billie moved to McAlester after marrying her second husband, Dennis Hendrix. They also had one daughter, Heather Nicole Hendrix. In 1981, the small family moved to Tishomingo, OK, for Dennis’ work, and Billie attended Murray State while working at the college. Eventually, she managed the local video rental store owned by her older brother, Jim. After twelve years in Tishomingo, Billie spent short periods in Texas and Bartlesville, but by 1994, she had landed in Ada, where she became a single mother to the youngest of her daughters, Mika Ayn Hendrix. A job for her brother’s outdoor store took her to Springdale, AR, in 2004, where she lived for five years. Life led Billie back to Ada in 2009 to live near her sisters and to work for the Chickasaw Nation as a Mental Health Coordinator. She loved her job and her co-workers who became some of her closest friends. Billie was known for her kindness, empathy, love of life, warm hugs, quick smile, and infectious laugh. She was a devoted mother, a beloved grandmother to her two grandchildren, Dakota and Levi, and an enamored great-grandmother to Lumen James and Banks Alan Mahaffey.
Billie is survived by her daughters Misty Potter and her husband Keith of Talala, OK; Heather Hendrix of Tishomingo, OK; and Mika Hendrix of Ada, OK; her granddaughter, Dakota Duerson and her fiancé, Sean Mahaffey along with their two children, Lumen and Banks of Owasso, OK; and her grandson, Levi Potter, of Talala, OK. Billie is also survived by her three siblings: sisters Tisha Todd and her husband, Harold; and Angie Marino, all of Ada, OK; and her brother, James (Jim) Potts and his wife, Beth of Springdale, AR. Billie has too many nieces, nephews, and other relatives to name, but they all loved their Aunt “Bull” dearly and rushed to be by her side in the hospital before her passing.
Billie was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Nayoma Potts.
The viewing will be held Thursday, September 9 from 5:00pm – 7:00pm at Criswell Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 2:00pm, Friday, September 10, also at Criswell Funeral Home and officiated by Pastor Scott Sullivan. Pallbearers are Keith Potter, Levi Potter, Sean Mahaffey, Darrell Potts, Rob Johnson, and Tommy Keefer. Honorary pallbearers are John Ritchie, Joey Thompson, Rob Potts, Matt Potts, TJ Gaines, Charles Ingram, Jim Potts, and Harold Todd. Interment will follow at Rosedale Cemetery in Ada, OK, where she will be laid to rest near her beloved parents. Afterwards, family and friends are invited to gather at Wintersmith Lodge for some food and sharing of memories as we say goodbye to the woman who brought so much love, spirit, and joy to our lives.
Criswell Funeral Home, Ada
