BILLY M. BIRMINGHAM

Memorial for Billy M. Birmingham will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Autry Funeral Home.

Mr. Birmingham died March 22. He was born in Victoria July 9, 1946. In 1964, he attended Sam Houston State University on a music scholarship, and became a member of the Phi Mu Alpha. He quit school to be drafted into the U.S. Army. Upon returning home, he returned to college while working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. In 1979, he received his Masters Degree in criminology. After more than 28 years with the prison system, he retired to fulfill his dream of living in East Texas.

Both he and son, Cole, are members of the International Tae Kwon Do Alliance, and hold second degree black belts. In the past couple of years, he acted in the Rusk Cherokee Civic Theatre. He was preceded in death by his infant daughter, Shelly Marie. Surviving him are his wife, Katherine Carroll Birmingham; son, Joshua Cole Birmingham; his parents, Bill and Marie Birmingham of Rusk; sister and brother-inlaw, Kathy and Dick Schmidt of San Antonio; brother and sister-in-law, Tim and Fran Birmingham of Rusk; nieces Leanne, Dana, Sarah, Kim, Karmin, Hannah and nephew, Noah; two adult children, Amy Beth and James Martin, and three grandchildren, Kindal, Alexis and Piper, of Huntsville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Paralyzed Veterans of America and Disabled American Veterans.