Billy Bates Hedges 1938-2023

Posted Thursday, June 22, 2023 11:20 am

Billy Bates Hedges passed away on Wednesday evening, May 31, 2023; he was 84.

He joins his parents, brother Jerry Lee Hedges, and wife Jane Hedges.

He is survived by his brother, Harold (Mary Helen) Hedges, III; daughter, Kathryn (Stephen) Arata of Dallas; and grandchildren, Jeremy (Emma) Arata, Hannah Arata and Julianna Arata; son, Kent (Jennifer) Hedges of Cedar Park and grandchildren, Nick (Lily) Hedges, Noah Hedges and Logan Hedges; and daughter, Rebecca (Ross) Matthews of Houston and grandchildren, Ellen Matthews and Olivia Matthews.

He also joins his second wife, Beth Robinson Hedges. He is survived by stepdaughter, Jill (Todd) House of Joshua and grandchildren, Katie (Jason) Billingslea and Mary Claire (Will) Meador; and stepdaughter, Jill Meil Robinson of Dallas and grandchildren, Ben Robinson, Adam Robinson, Madison Shirley, Chloe (Collin) Cooper, and two great-grandchildren.

Growing up in Little Rock, Ark., Bill enjoyed the outdoors, loved exploring, and became an Eagle Scout. Bill graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1956, attended Hendrix College for two years, graduated from SMU with a history degree in 1960 and Perkins Theological Seminary in 1963. He served as a United Methodist pastor in 20 churches throughout East Texas for over 40 years.

Capitalizing on his love of history, Bill served as the Methodist Conference historian for 28 years, president of the Texas United Methodist Historical Society, Archivist for the South-Central Jurisdiction for eight years and a member of the General Commission on Archives and History for four years. Bill is captured for all posterity via a video he made welcoming people to the Center for Connectional Resources in Conroe (https://www.txcumc.org/connectional-resources/archives-history/).

Bill’s life centered on the phrase: “Serve the People” and he embodied a life of service through many local leadership roles with Rotary International from chapter president to district governor. He often quoted their motto: “Service above self” and the 4-way test of the things we think, say, and do: “Is it the truth?”, “Is it fair to all concerned?”, “Will it build goodwill and better friendship?” and “Will it be beneficial to all concerned?” Bill lived by the words of John Wesley: “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Bill will be laid to rest in the columbarium and memorial garden at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church located at 12415 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, Ark. following a service on Sunday, June 18, 2023, at 2 p.m. A celebration of life service was held at First United Methodist Church in Quitman on Monday, June 19, 2023 at 1 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to (include “In honor of Bill Hedges” in the note/memo):

Quitman Rotary Club

Attn: Scholarship Fund

PO Box 222

Quitman, TX 75783

The Quitman United Methodist Church Endowment

https://FUMCQuitman.org

Texas Annual Conference Archives & History

https://rb.gy/q1i00

Feed My Starving Children

https://www.fmsc.org

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