11/21/2025
Billy Clouse
Billy Lee Clouse, of Mansfield, was born at home, located in what was known as the community of Bryant, in Douglas County, Missouri, on June 20, 1941, to George and Laurel (Wallace) Clouse. He departed this life November 15, 2025, from injuries sustained in a traffic accident near his home at the age of 84 years.
Billy grew up on the family dairy farm, also near the Bryant community in Douglas County, where, together with his siblings and mother, they were responsible for keeping the farm going while George was often gone preaching as he was in full-time evangelistic work. Billy was the oldest of four children, so he learned to be responsible at an early age.
As a young boy, Billy attended Oak Grove School near the current Roadside Park in Douglas County. He said he would walk over a mile through the pasture and woods from their home to the small country school. One school morning, he said that he just sat down under a bush and decided that he didn’t want to walk that far anymore. His mom came out and said, “Billy! Hurry! You are going to be late for school!”, but he just kept sitting there because his six-year-old legs were just too tired to make the trip. After some discussion, the decision was made that Billy would start grade school and his father would also enroll at Mt. Zion Bible School near Ava, Missouri, for some Bible classes.
Billy said, at the age of 7 or 8, he was given the responsibility to drive a small tractor from the farm to Mt. Zion Bible School for his transportation. He said that he had been given strict orders to never pick up new riders along the way due to safety concerns. One day, his kind little heart got the best of him, and he said he allowed a student to climb onto his tractor as he was climbing the hill up to the school. Someone did, in fact, notify his parents of this, and he later was disciplined on his backside.
While attending Mt. Zion, Billy met and fell in love with Dorothy Jean Jackson. They were high school sweethearts who graduated together in 1959. Billy said that after dating for about three years, Dorothy mentioned maybe they ought to get married. He said that he had thought about it and knew that she was the one but had been awfully busy and just had not asked yet. In 1961, after high school graduation, Billy had purchased land near Mansfield, Missouri, with plans to take his twenty Holstein cows there to start a dairy farm. It took from May until August for the farmhouse to become available to move into, so sometime around 9:00 PM on August 3, 1961, after Billy milked the cows, the couple met at Brush Arbor Church for a simple wedding ceremony. Their honeymoon was spent back on the farm, where they lived together for over 60 years until Dorothy’s passing from an extended battle with cancer.
To this union, four children were born. They were raised to work hard, have morals and values, to be self-sufficient, and to serve God and attend church. Running a dairy farm does not leave a lot of time for family vacations, but there were some memorable trips to the Great Smokey Mountains and Yellowstone. Later, after things slowed down some, Billy and Dorothy enjoyed vacations with their dear cousins Roy and Sue Clouse. There were cruises, bus trips, and election parties in Branson. Occasionally, the families would get together for canoe trips and entirely fill up a large yellow school bus with a lot of loud talking and laughing with all the combined kids and grandkids.
Billy loved his grandkids and they could talk him into just about anything, especially if it included food. He was always willing to pick them up for church or a McDonald’s run, regardless if he had already eaten. The grandkids have memories of his chili and cornbread, biscuits and gravy, or sandwiches and drinks he would make and bring out to anyone working, especially on a hot summer day. He kept good snacks and would share just about everything except for the Dr. Pepper that he would try to hide. Grandpa was for the underdog and would always take their side if grandma was getting them in trouble.
In later years, Billy would say that farming was the only job he had ever had, when in fact he often had several jobs at one time to supplement the farm. He ran a milk route, hauled hay and fertilizer, and was a distributor for Pro-Lix liquid feed. He sold hundreds of Holstein herd bulls in various areas, including Webster, Wright, and Douglas counties. The kids and his nephews remember riding along with Billy as he would haul milk, feed or spread fertilizer for area farmers, and often the Pro-Lix deliveries would be well after dark.
Brush Arbor Church was started from an actual old-fashioned brush arbor meeting following a seven-week revival in 1938. Billy had attended the church since he was born in 1941. He made sure his family attended, and he was faithful until the very end. He was known over the years for his beautiful singing voice and was the song leader for over 60 years until the very last Sunday before his passing. When the farm was in full operation, the family might have slid in right at start time and smelling a little like the barn, but they were there.
Billy and Dorothy both loved Mt. Zion Bible School, where the children all attended and graduated, and Billy served on the school board for many years until his passing. He enjoyed camp meetings and all the friends of Mt. Zion over the years. A favorite Mt. Zion teacher of Billy’s was Miss Esther Ruth Collins who not only taught Billy and Dorothy but also all four kids as well as some of the grandkids.
Billy was a very well-respected and honorable man who loved God and lived a Godly life. He was a peacemaker and always tried to see the best in people. When his name comes up, there is usually a good story to go along with it. In recent years, he had failed some, especially since losing his wife, Dorothy. He had become more feeble, but some of his favorite things to do were to ride around and check his cattle, look over the hayfields, go up to town to eat, and normally he would be gone to the sale barn at least twice a week. He had lots of helpers to keep things going. The kids or grandkids checked on him daily, and usually someone stayed with him on the weekends. He was known for being a little messy and would often mention that he probably needed to go home and pick up before his daughter, Gina, would get there.
Our lives were forever changed when Billy and Gina were involved in an unexpected traffic accident, where one second Billy was with us, and the next he was in the very presence of Jesus. It is a miracle that Gina survived, and we are forever thankful for all the details that God worked out that day.
Billy is survived by daughter, Regina Clouse of Nixa, and her children, Britney Shryer and husband, Brad; Jonathan Sales and wife, Madison; Nick and Luke Swearengin; and Summer Warrick; son, Rodney Clouse, of Ava, and his wife, Lynda, and their children, Lane and Erin Clouse; daughter, Ramona Clouse of Rogersville, and her children, Garrett Cross and Tristin Landwehr and husband, Landon; daughter, Rebecca Fleming, of Mansfield, and husband, Thomas, and their children, Jessica Fleming and fiancé, José Maldonado; Elizabeth Carroll and husband, Clayton; Jackson Fleming and fiancé, Emily Stewart; and Colin Fleming; great-grandchildren, Ava and Billie Shryer, Sunny Sales, Cassian and soon-coming baby boy Landwehr, and Jensen Fleming.
Billy is also survived by his brother, Bobby Clouse; brothers-in-law, David Goff and Arland Wilkinson; sisters-in-law, Linda Clouse and Betty Euliss-Wilkinson; and his uncle, David Clouse Sr., as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, and friends.
Billy was preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy; his parents, George and Laurel Clouse; sister, Marilyn Goff; brother, Ronney Clouse; brothers-in-law, Gearl Euliss and Toby Willis; and sisters-in-law, Rowena Clouse and Shirley Willis.
We, as a family, are incredibly grateful for our heritage and for Billy Clouse’s good name. His deepest wish would be to meet again in Heaven one day. We want to thank everyone for your acts of kindness and prayers during this unexpected and difficult time.
Memorial contributions can be made on behalf of the family to The Gideons International or Mount Zion Bible School. Donations can be dropped off in person at Craig-Hurtt Funeral Home in Mansfield or mailed to: 315 N. Main St., Mountain Grove, Missouri 65711.
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