Bill Loyd Burkett

Bill Burkett, 74, went to be with the Lord on February 27, 2024, doing what he loved at his home in Belle Plaine, Texas. He is survived by his wife, Nicki, his children, Scott Burkett and his wife Becky, Aaron Burkett, Robyn Key and Tammi Mackeben and her husband Mike, as well as his grandchildren, Sean, Colin, and Grace Flanagan, Halle Burkett, Nolan and Luke Burkett, and Austin and Cali Mackeben, and his ever-faithful companion, Molly.

Billy Loyd Burkett was born on November 16, 1949, in Portales, New Mexico, to John Elmo Burkett and Jewell Juanita Smith Burkett, Bill graduated from Portales High School and then attended Eastern New Mexico University, where he was elected student body president during his senior year. He earned a Bachelor of Political Science and Economics degree in 1971.

That same year, Bill married Lorinda Andrews and four years later, they began their family with the birth of their first son, Bryan Scott, in April 1975. Three years later, their second son, Aaron Lee, was born in May 1978.

Over the course of his lifetime, he worked in several roles, beginning as a loan officer at Clovis National Bank in New Mexico shortly after graduating from college. He later worked for the New Mexico Economic District and for Amarillo Hardware.

Bill married Nicki Nichols on December 21, 1984, in New Mexico before moving to Abilene, Texas, in 1985.

Bill was a proud member of the New Mexico and Texas National Guard, serving for 32 years, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. During his time in the National Guard, Bill also served as a business consultant and technical advisor on a major project for Boeing.

He was a passionate speaker and motivator with a gift for delivering intellect and conveying a story with an admirable eloquence that unified people and moved them to think, to question the status quo, and to act.

Bill loved his cattle herd and ranch just outside Baird, Texas, set high on a beautiful hilltop haven in Belle Plaine. He was a cattle rancher for more than 50 years, and there was very little—perhaps nothing—he didn’t know or understand about cattle, particularly the Swiss breed of Simmental cattle, which he loved more than any other breed.

But above all else, Bill loved his family and was exceedingly proud of his children. Nothing, however, could get Bill to smile quite as big as when he saw his grandchildren or talked with them over the phone.

Bill is missed greatly and because of his undeniable influence in the lives of his friends, his family members, and his colleagues, he leaves behind a space that cannot be filled by another—and won’t be completely healed until we are reunited with him in Heaven one fine day.

Memorial services will be held on Friday, March 15, at 11:00 a.m. at Parker-Jacobs Funeral Home in Baird, Texas. Inurnment will follow at Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene at 2:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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