Billy Suggs Barnes, age 87, of Noxapater passed away Saturday, October 13, 2018, after a lengthyillness. A graveside service will be held at Noxapater Methodist Cemetery on Saturday, October 20, 2018, at 11 a.m. officiated by Rev. Jeff Walton of Noxapater Methodist Church.
Billy Suggs was born on April 16, 1931, in Noxapater to Thomas Jefferson Barnes, Sr. and Lavada Della Ingram. He graduated from Noxapater High School, and then attended East Central Community College where he was a member of their football team. He then attended Mississippi State University where he earned a B.S. in animal science, a M.S. in plant breeding, and a M.S. in seed technology. He served as a medic at the close of the Korean War and was a proud United States Army Veteran. Billy Suggs worked for the MSU extension service as a US AID agricultural specialist in Guatemala, Central America, and then worked 35 years for Alexandria Seed Company in Alexandria, Louisiana, before founding his own export company toward the end of his career.
His hobbies included a deep love of United States history, particularly the period of the Civil War. He and his wife, Glenda Ree, traveled extensively throughout the Western United States. He was an avid reader of history and “Westerns”, and loved to watch college football and college baseball—especially MSU.
After retiring, he and his childhood sweetheart and wife, Glenda Ree, built their dream home on their land west of Noxapater and he indulged his love for animals. On his country “farm” he raised at various times—donkeys, horses, mules, goats, chickens, and geese.
Billy Suggs is survived by his wife of 67 years, Glenda Ree Quinn Barnes of Noxapater, Mississippi, his four children and eleven grandchildren. His children are: Jeffrey Earl Barnes (Nancy) of Houston, Texas, and their children Paul and Sean; Gary Thomas Barnes, M.D. of Noxapater, Mississippi, and his children, Corey and Delaney; Karen Barnes Gibbs (Bobby) of Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and their children Kelsey, Cameron, and Connor; and Julie Barnes Camacho (Carlos) of The Woodlands, Texas and their children Sabrina, Quentin, William, and Cathy. He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister Dollie Jane Barnes Sachen, and two brothers Hamlet Webb Barnes and Thomas Jefferson Barnes, Jr.
Pallbearers will be Jeffery Earl Barnes, Gary Thomas Barnes, Bobby Gibbs, Carlos Camacho, Paul Barnes, and Cameron Gibbs. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Services are under the direction of Nowell Massey Funeral Home, 724 North Columbus Avenue, Louisville, MS. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family by signing the guest register at www.nowellmasseyfuneralhome.com.
