SERVICES:      Friday, April 21, 2023

First Baptist Church of Beaumont

3 p.m.

INTERMENT:   Beaumont Cemetery

VISITATION:  Friday, April 21, 2023

First Baptist Church of Beaumont

1:30-3:00 p.m.

Services for Mr. Billy Ray "Bill" Mathis, age 93, of New Orleans, Louisiana will be held at 3 p.m., Friday, April 21, 2023 at First Baptist Church of Beaumont.  Mr. Mathis passed from this life on April 13, 2023 at West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, LA. Bro. John Sapp will officiate the service and burial will follow in Beaumont Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Mitch Wells, Jeremie Wells, Troy Gibbons, Josie Gibbons, Frank Mathis, and David Barber. Honorary pallbearers will be Grant Mathis and Colby Mathis.

Mr. Mathis was a loving father, grandfather, sibling, and uncle who was a true man of God. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army during the Korean War and worked for the Counterintelligence Corps in Washington, D.C. Mr. Mathis held a Bachelor of Education degree from William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS, a Master of Education degree from Loyola University in New Orleans, LA, a Master of Religious Education from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

Mr. Mathis worked as a high school teacher and guidance counselor in the New Orleans area. He was an ordained Southern Baptist minister and an active member of Calvary Southern Baptist Church and Oak Park Southern Baptist Church, both in New Orleans, LA. He was also an active member of Hardy Street Southern Baptist Church in Hattiesburg where he was a member of the Joy Club, the choir, the Sunday school class for men, and an active volunteer with the senior adult group.

Mr. Mathis was preceded in death by his parents, Estes and Mary Mathis; brothers, Byron Mathis and Glennwood Mathis; sister, Mary Sue Mathis Powell; and grandparents, Dr. E.J. and Mary Mathis and George and Sarah Hillman Breland.

He is survived by his wife, Sara "Peggy" Mathis of New Orleans, LA; children, John Mathis of Baton Rouge, LA and Nancy Mathis of New Orleans, LA; as well as his three grandchildren, Jordan Mathis, Grant Mathis, and Colby Mathis, all of Baton Rouge, LA; sister, Sarah Mathis Barber; and many nieces and nephews who always graciously hosted him when he was in the Beaumont area.

Visitation will be Friday, April 21, 2023, at First Baptist Church of Beaumont from 1:30-3:00 p.m.