Chadrad.com

Memorial Services for Billie Kayton, age 79, of Gordon will be Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 2:00 PM at the Wesleyan Gospel Chapel in Gordon with Reverend Jason Hurd & Reverend Rose Fry officiating.

Inurnment with Military Honors will be at the Gordon Cemetery.

A memorial has been established for the Wesleyan Gospel Chapel, 5th and Main, Gordon, NE 69343.

Honorary Pallbearers: Terry Kaplan, Jamie Kaplan, Paul Calkins, Roger Goodfellow, George Paxton, Ted Ehlers, Dale Hunter, Jim Hutcheson, Jeff Brewer, Nick Dahlgren, Leonard Lissolo and Norman Edwards.

Billie Vernon Kayton ofGordon passed away Saturday, May 1, 2010 at his home surrounded by his loving family.

He was born April 1, 1931 in Rushville, Nebraska to Will and Amy Kayton. When it came time for his birth, his mother and father, who lived southwest of Gordon on a farm, drove with a horse team and sled through a snow storm to the highway and someone picked them up in a vehicle driving them the remainder of the way to the hospital in Rushville.

Billie was the youngest of seven children born to Will and Amy Kayton. He lived on the family farm southwest of Gordon and attended school in the country as well as the Gordon public schools. As a teenager, he moved with his parents to the town of Gordon and worked in the family business, Kayton Feed and Seed.

In 1950, during the Korean War, Billie enlisted in the Navy and served on the USS Grasp and USS Pollux ships in the Pacific Ocean. He was honorably discharged in November 1954. While serving in the Navy, he received numerous awards including the United Nations Medal with Five Stars and as well as a Navy Unit Citation.

After leaving the Navy, he came back to Gordon where he worked for his father and eventually bought the Kayton Feed and Seed Store. After selling the feed store, he was involved with several businesses including Farmer’s Co-op Elevator in Gordon where he worked for 23 years before retiring.

He married Helen Jane Scott on June 30, 1957 in Hay Springs, Nebraska. They were married 52 years at the time of his death.

Billie was a member of the American Legion for 56 continuous years. He was also a member of the Gordon Farmer’s Market. All of his life, Billie enjoyed spending time with his family and his pets. He loved gardening, raising livestock on the family farm east of Gordon, and playing practical jokes (he was, after all born on April Fool’s Day). Honesty, integrity, and the Golden Rule were standards he lived his life by.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Will and Amy Kayton; brothers Howard, Earl, David, and Myron; and sisters Ruth Hanson and Esther Kayton.

Sons- David and wife Retta Kayton of Clinton, NE; Michael and wife Kim Kayton of Norfolk, NE.

Daughter- Doris and husband Glen Spaugh of Colorado Springs, CO.

Grandchildren- Cole, Jennifer, Lindsey, Matthew, and Courtney.

Brothers-In-Law- William Scott and wife Mary of Wichita, KS; Harry Hanson of Gordon, NE; Elaine Kayton of Denver, CO.

Many nieces and nephews.

Chamberlain Chapel of Chadron is in charge of arrangements.