Honoring My Friend, Matt Billingsley

In high school there were so many groups, the athletic group, the band members, the art crowd, the smart kids, the not-so smart kids, the rebels, the loners, the ones who just didn’t care. No matter where you fit in or stuck out, you still form a bond with your classmates. My class has lost our share of members – nearly a dozen. I’m not sure what happened in all of the cases but I know for sure the most recent loss hit close to home.

At our 20th class reunion, a lone Matt Billingsley asked if he could sit at the table with a few of us. Arriving just a bit late, there were only a few seats available. I welcomed the opportunity to share a few moments with Matt, explaining to him that we shared a common bond, or two. I was excited to tell him that I attended church with his uncle. But what Matt found most interesting is that my father was a member of the Pine Tree Masonic Lodge. Matt was also a Mason.



In 2007, he was raised as a Master Mason at Lockhart Lodge #690. He went on to be made a 32 Degree Mason at the Austin Valley Scottish Rite, a York Rite Mason, and a Shriner. Although he had no affiliation with Pine Tree Masonic Lodge and Pine Tree OES, he offered guns for fundraising purposes at his cost and filled out all of the paper work on his own. Matt always had a smile on his face and was willing to help out a person in need.

Matt was one of the good guys. The world has so few good ones and this loss is far reaching. You don’t know who or how many lives you touch during a life time. Matt touched so many lives. I believe it’s because he lived by a code. He didn’t learn this code from the Masonic Lodge. Matt was taught how to be a good young man through the Boy Scouts of America. The lessons he learned there were only enforced and applied to adulthood through the Lodge and church.

The code? First and foremost honor your God and take care of your family. Raise your children so that they have morals and that they fear God. Also, help care for families without a father. This comes from the Biblical Book of James. Religion that God, our Father, considers pure and thoughtless is this, to look after widows and orphans in their distress. The ones who follow this code also live their lives in a pleasing manor toward God and man. You can tell by someone’s actions what kind of person they are. There is a song that says “they will know we are Christians by our love.” That is how Matt lived. That is how Matt will be remembered.



On Friday, June 17, 2011, the Supreme Creator of the Universe saw fit to call Matthew to His side. He left to honor his memory, the love of his life…Sandy and an unborn child, Haley.

Rest In Peace Matt, you will be missed, greatly missed.