Bill ‘Cowboy’ Echols
Bill “Cowboy” Echols passed away on Friday, January 19, 2018, after a brief illness.
Bill was born April 11, 1928, on the Echols ranch in Stephens County to Fannie Dill and Charles Milner Echols. He graduated from Breckenridge High School in 1946 and attended Hardin Simmons University the following year. He married Jolene “Dusty” Harris that same year, and together they had two children, Melinda and Billy.
Bill wore many hats during his lifetime. He was in oil and gas, real estate and ranching; he built airplane hangars in Galveston and houses in Austin. In 1973, he moved to Austin as Senator Tom Creighton’s administrative aide.
Bill married a second time in 1974; he and Shirley celebrated 43 years of marriage in November 2017. They were always on the go, traveling to Germany, Italy, Costa Rica and coast-to-coast in the United States. At various times, they had homes in Colorado, New Mexico and Florida.
Bill was predeceased by his parents; sister, Charlene “Toppy” Jackson; and brother-in-law, Joe Jackson. Bill is survived by his loving wife, Shirley; daughter and son-in-law, Melinda and Sam Sparks; son and daughter-in-law, Billy and Jan Echols, Shirley’s three children; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, January 27, at the First Baptist Church in Breckenridge, Texas. Interment will follow at Bee Branch Cemetery under the direction of Melton-Kitchens Funeral Home of Breckenridge. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the First Baptist Church Building Fund.
