Paul Joseph Biller
1928-2023
Paul Joseph Biller passed from this life on his 95th birthday, Feb. 26, 2023. The time has come to mourn his passing and celebrate his long and beautiful life.
Born Feb. 26, 1928, Paul was the fifth child and second son of Lizzie and Otto “Tobe” Biller. His youth was lived in the time of the Great Depression. But Paul never had a sense of living in poverty. It seemed everyone was poor in those days.
Paul was a lifelong member of Holy Trinity Parish in Okarche. He had great love and respect for Monsignor Zenon Steber and was an altar server from third grade through the end of high school. He said he always felt like Holy Trinity Catholic Church was a second home.
The lives of Paul and the Biller family would be beset by heartbreak in December of 1943, when word came that older brother Seaman First Class Tobias “Bud” Biller had been lost in the Pacific.
Paul started pre-med studies at Saint Benedict’s College in 1945. He was asked by his sister Alice to return home to assist running the family business, Biller Motor Company, and farming operations for three small acreages in Canadian County. He ran the Chevrolet dealership from 1950 to 1973, when he closed the dealership. He then worked as a parts manager for several car dealerships, principally Carter Chevrolet in Okarche.
Leaving college was not his plan, but Paul always maintained that God made it up to him by sending him the love of his life, Janet Fickess. Paul and Janet were married on August 23, 1950, and enjoyed a marriage of 72 years. Into this union were born five children. Later arrived seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
A lifelong resident of Okarche, Paul served on the Town Council in the 1960s. During his time on the Council, Oklahoma Natural Gas was contracted to provide natural gas to the community, the town water system was expanded and improved and waste disposal systems were established. The Eischen addition was opened. Paul served as mayor of Okarche through part of this time. Paul again served on the Town Council and as Mayor in the 1990s.
When Paul’s sons were young, he was instrumental in starting Little League baseball in Okarche at the urging of his paperboy, Tommy Arms.
Paul was preceded in death by his daughter, Alicia Kay Reed (Joel); parents, Otto R. and Lizzie (McCabe) Biller; sisters, Genevieve Hoehner (William), Betty Roche (William), Alice Heinen (Robert) and Adelma Teague Hollingsworth (Francis Lee and Earl); brothers, SFC Tobias Rapheal Biller and Reverend Thomas Patrick Biller.
He is survived by his loving wife, Janet (Fickess) Biller; daughter, Janice Biller of Oklahoma City; sons, Gary Biller (Maysoon) of Conway, Arkansas, Kevin Biller of Madison, Wisconsin, and Mark Biller of Okarche; son-in-law, Joel Reed of San Diego, California; grandchildren, Nicole Bowman, Joshua Biller (Megan), Preston Biller (Sarah), Christopher Biller, Katherine Waters (Chad), Alia Lancaster (Zeke) and Meagan Biller; great-grandchildren, Isaac Bowman, Samuel Bowman, Alicia Waters, Conrad Biller, Quinn Biller and Louise Lancaster.
Always a hardworking and steady-tempered man was Paul. He could maintain a quiet sense of humor through good times and bad. He had a gentle spirit, a ready smile and an unshakable faith. His kindness and patience to others was boundless. He carried in his billfold from the age of 15 until into his 50s a poem entitled, “What a brave thing it is: to love.” And he lived his life bravely, loving us all unconditionally.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Friday, March 3, 2023, at 10 a.m., with burial following at Holy Trinity Cemetery in Okarche under the direction of Huber-Benson Funeral Home.
