Billie Finke Trott

Billie Finke Trott, age 95, died peacefully on January 2, 2023, in Oxford, Mississippi, and was reunited in heaven with her beloved husband, William Richard Trott. The funeral will be Thursday, January 5, 2022, at 12:00 Noon at First Baptist Church with Dr. Robert Allen and Rev. Don Gann officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the service beginning at 10:00 A.M. at the church. Burial will follow in St. Peter’s Cemetery.

Billie was born to William (Willie) Carle Finke, Sr. and Alvie Josephine (Miller) Finke on August 5, 1927, in Finke, Texas (Pottsboro), where she and her siblings shared responsibilities for the family’s farm. A natural at gardening and working the earth, Billie also took great delight in the farm’s livestock, especially her mother’s turkeys and her father’s mules, for whom the family depended upon prior to the invention of modern farming equipment.

By World War II, the Finke farm’s dairy production had increased. With the able men at war, Billie and the other young women of that time stepped forward to “do their part.” Although Billie worked each morning to take care of the cows, she still made it to school each day, where detail and numbers came easily to her. She graduated from Calera High School in Calera, Oklahoma and continued her studies at both Austin College in Sherman, Texas and the University of Maryland in Silver Springs, Maryland.

Her professional career began at Perrin Air Force Base at Sherman, Texas, where she served as an accountant and later an auditor for the USAF Auditor General. She transferred to the district office at Fort Worth, Texas before making a move to serve at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. It was in the nation’s capital where she met and became the wife of then Captain William (Dick) Richard Trott and where their two sons, John Michael Trott and Andrew Timothy Trott, were born.

Billie and Dick were assigned duties in Los Angeles, California and later in Boston, Massachusetts, where Dick was the Commander of the ROTC unit at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Billie retired from civil service after 25 years, and Dick retired with the rank of Colonel before they both took jobs at the University of Mississippi: Billie in the English Department and Dick as a mathematics professor.

Billie had a keen interest in horticulture and all plant life. She loved gentle walks through her garden recounting the stories of when each plant and flower was planted and from whom or from where each had been gained. She especially took great joy in propagating new plants and sharing them with others. After retirement, she and Dick spent many hours together in the garden as well as trips across the country and throughout Europe.

A fine cook and baker, Billie always prepared special treats to welcome her children and grandchildren to their family home, where they could also curl up in the beautiful quilts she created over the years. Billie’s sister, Katherine Westbrook’s, beautiful painted pottery; teacups and mugs gifted from friends met around the country; memories from Dick’s love of fishing and their shared time of civil service; and suns decorated their home. Perhaps the suns reminded her of each beloved Texas sunrise or sunset she witnessed; to her family, they represented the inner light, strength, faith, love and kindness she shared with each of them.

Billie and Dick were active members of First Baptist Church of Oxford, where they sang in the church choir for over 30 years. Up until Billie’s movement became limited, she remained active in her Sunday School Class, which she loved dearly.

Billie was preceded in death by her husband of 50 years, William Richard Trott; her parents; her sister Katherine Westbrook; and her brother William Carl “Bill” Finke, Jr.

She is survived by her sons, John M. Trott (Angie and daughter Bella) and Andrew T. Trott (Laura and children, Abby and William); her stepchildren, Steven R. Trott (daughter Connor, grandchild Ella Jane, and son Preston) and Caren T. Robbins (George and sons, Zachary and Bryce); and her sister-in-law, Dr. Judith D. Trott.

Memorials may be sent to The Trott Family Scholarship Endowment, c/o The University of Mississippi Foundation, 406 University Avenue, Oxford, MS 38655 (To UM Foundation; Memo Trott Family Scholarship) or https://nowandever.olemiss.edu/ (view other funds, search for Trott Family Scholarship) or First Baptist Church Oxford, 800 Van Buren Ave., Oxford, MS 38655 or www.gotofirst.org.