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Hillier Funeral Home obituary
2301 E. 29th St.
Bryan, TX, US, 77802
(979) 822-1571

Wilford "Billy" Frank Pickard
October 31, 1933 - March 9, 2015

Wilford F. “Billy” Pickard Jr.
October 31, 1933 – March 9, 2015

Billy Pickard, 81, of College Station, Texas, passed away on March 9, 2015. A time for family to receive friends will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12, at Hillier Funeral Home in Bryan, Texas. A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 13, in the Bethancourt Ballroom of the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M University campus in College Station, Texas. Parking is reserved in Lot 61 for family and guests with shuttle service to the MSC. The family will receive guests at a reception immediately following at Reed Arena, with burial for all family members and friends to take place at the Aggie Field of Honor at 3:00pm.

Billy was born on October 31, 1933, to Wilford F. Pickard (Aggie Class of ’31) and Katherine Bossy in San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from Central Catholic High School in San Antonio in 1952 and attended Texas A&M University, earning a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1956.

Billy’s affiliation with Texas A&M began in the fall of 1952 as a freshman in the Corps of Cadets, Company A-Armor. Later that year, he moved into Hart Hall as part of Company A-Athletics as a student football trainer. He served Texas A&M University’s Athletic Department with great distinction, with legendary head football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant and assisting the head trainer, Smokey Harper. Billy was a valued asset at the infamous Junction Boys football training camp prior to the 1954 football season. He tended to a member of the Junction Boys, Gene Stallings, who would later play a major role in getting Billy back to Aggieland.
Upon his graduation from Texas A&M, Billy served as the athletic trainer at Port Arthur High School. In Port Arthur, Pickard worked on players from Nederland High School who were led by another Texas legend, Bum Phillips. In 1957, Pickard moved to Brazosport High School as head athletic trainer, where he worked until his services were requested back in Aggieland. 
Billy joined the Texas A&M football staff as head athletic trainer on January 1, 1965. He was one of the first hires made by newly named Texas A&M athletic director and head football coach Gene Stallings. 
Billy gladly accepted additional responsibilities in 1972 when athletic director and head football coach Emory Bellard asked him to become the equipment manager, as well as head trainer.
One of the facets most admired by those who have known Billy was his ability to adjust and willingness to do whatever it took to help Texas A&M University. In more than 50 years of involvement with the Aggie Athletic Department, Billy assumed many roles. In 1979, he took responsibility for coordinating the training and equipment surrounding all athletic facilities on campus. Then in 1987, he was named assistant athletic director for training, equipment and facilities. In 1994 he was named an associate athletic director for facilities and was later named senior associate athletic director for facilities in 1994.
Highly respected in national athletic circles, Billy was an active member of the Southwest Athletic Trainers Association (SWATA) and served in many capacities with the organization, including a term as president of the organization in 1960-61. In 1984, Billy received the prestigious Frank Medina Award for his contributions to SWATA. The National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) elected Billy to its Hall of Fame in 1985. In 2004, the Texas A&M Letterman’s Association named Billy to the organization’s Hall of Honor.
Billy mentored many athletic trainers and managers as well as field staff, including current Aggie equipment manager Matt Watson, head football trainer David Weir, women’s basketball trainer Mike “Radar” Ricke, athletic field and maintenance manager Leo Goertz and his assistant Craig Potts. Former trainers such as David Heath and Karl Kapchinski learned the vocation from this Hall of Famer.
Billy, who just happened to be born on Halloween, was known as the keeper of Kyle Field. Even after his full-time status ended in 2009, he would arrive most every day at 6 a.m. to provide a watchful eye over the stadium that he loved. He continued to be an adviser through many projects, welcome coaching staff, and firing up the Aggie football team before each home game. Although he was highly involved with football, Billy cared for student athletes of all Aggie athletic teams. When asked by the Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association about which sports to list beside his name on the donor wall, he simply said, “No sports, please, just list me as a COMPANY MAN.’’

Billy is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Barbara Stappenbeck.

He leaves behind his loving wife of 43 years, Linda; children Kevin (Aggie class of ’97) and wife Amy (Aggie class of ’99), Joe Pickard and wife Jan, Janet Bausch, John Pickard and wife Diane, Jean Carter and husband Jeff, and Joy Crowl and husband Mark. Also surviving Billy is his brother Robert Pickard (Aggie Class of ’61) and wife Mary, along with numerous grandchildren, a great-granddaughter, and many nieces, nephews, and loving family and friends.

As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to the 12th Man Foundation Billy Pickard Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Please share memories and tributes to Billy Pickard at www.texags.com and on his memorial page at www.hillierfuneralhome.com.

Visitation

MAR 12. 04:00 PM - 07:00 PM

Hillier Funeral Home
2301 E. 29th St.
Bryan, TX, US, 77802
(979) 822-1571

Service

MAR 13. 10:00 AM

MSC Bethancourt Ballroom
275 Joe Routt Blvd
College Station, TX, US, 77843

Cemetery Details

Aggie Field of Honor

3800 Raymond Stotzer Parkway
College Station, TX,

http://fieldofhonor.cstx.gov/index.asp
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Hillier Funeral Home services notice
2301 E. 29th St.
Bryan, TX, US, 77802
(979) 822-1571

Wilford "Billy" Frank Pickard Jr.
October 31, 1933 - March 9, 2015

Billy Pickard, 81, of Aggieland, went to be with his lord on Monday, March 9, 2015 with his family by his side. A time for family to receive friends will be from 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM on Thursday, March 12, 2015 at Hillier Funeral Home, 2301 E. 29th Street in Bryan. Funeral services will take place at 10:00 AM on Friday, March 13, 2015 at the MSC Bethancourt Ballroom, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. 

Full obituary and life story will be available soon.

Cemetery

Aggie Field of Honor
3800 Raymond Stotzer Parkway
College Station, TX,
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Posted in The (Bryan-College Station) Eagle (on) Monday, March 9, 2015

A&M icon Billy Pickard dies at age 81; Slocum, Sherrill reflect on his impact

Posted: Monday, March 9, 2015 1:29 am

By RICHARD CROOME richard.croome@theeagle.com

Billy Pickard — who former Aggie football coach R.C. Slocum once described as being more dedicated to Texas A&M athletics than anyone he knows — died early Monday morning.
The 81-year-old Pickard died at 12:05 a.m.

“Typical of dad,”said son Kevin Pickard. “He wanted to spend one more day in Aggieland.”

Pickard suffered a stroke on Saturday. His wife, Linda, son Kevin, a 1997 graduate of A&M, and daughter-in-law Amy were by his side when he died.

The 81-year-old Wilford “Billy” Pickard, born on Halloween, arrived on the A&M campus in 1952 and was a member of the Corps of Cadets Company A-Armor. He joined the football team that same year as a trainer and in some capacity, outside of a year at Port Arthur High School and eight years at Brazosport High School, has been part of A&M football ever since.
He worked for 10 A&M football coaches from Paul “Bear” Bryant to Mike Sherman. And although he retired in 2009, Pickard has remained a regular at the football complex and attended last Thursday’s practice in the McFerrin indoor football facility.

Last fall marked Pickard’s 50th Aggie football two-a-days, and every Friday before home games Aggie head coach Kevin Sumlin had Pickard address the squad.

“The number of lives the man has touched is almost immeasurable directly or indirectly,” said David Weir, who is in his 13th year as A&M’s head athletic trainer. “When you start talking about the student athletes he started working with even as a student athletic trainer when Coach Bryant was here, to then coming back to taking care of so many student trainers he mentored and assistant coaches, head coaches and others in the administration.”

Pickard graduated from A&M in 1956. Nine years later, he returned to A&M for good as a head athletic trainer under coach Gene Stallings, who knew of Pickard from the Junction Boys days. By 1972, Pickard had taken on the additional responsibility of equipment manager under Emory Ballard.

“One of the things that I’ve always thought, one of the roles and important things that coaches do is impact young men and if you look at Billy’s influence in all regards he was like a coach,” said Slocum, A&M’s head football coach from 1989 to 2002. “He wasn’t just doing his job he was a counselor and mentor to young men. He really cared about the players and he would tell it to them like it was. He was pretty frank. The managers and trainers would all sing Billy’s praises about the impact he had on their lives on being better people and learning how to work harder and learning how to be loyal.”

During coach Jackie Sherrill’s time at A&M, 1982-88, Pickard added adviser to his title, and later was named an assistant athletic director for training, equipment and facilities. Sherrill said Pickard was one of the all-time icons of A&M athletics.

“To the students you look at General [James Earl] Rudder, to all the players you look at Billy Pickard,” Sherrill said. “He was the behind-the-scenes person that actually made everything go. He knew the players better than any coaches. He knew how to protect them, knew what to say.”

Pickard was named an associate athletic director for facilities in 1994 and was later named senior associate athletic director for facilities. He helped oversee the building of the Bernard C. Richardson Zone at Kyle Field, the Bright Football Complex, Nye Academic Center and the Carolyn and Jack Little Complex on west campus.

Pickard supported more than the football team at A&M. He was on the bench for the first (1954) and last (1998) Aggie basketball games at G. Rollie White. He was a fixture at Aggie baseball games at Kyle Baseball Diamond as well as Olsen Field and could be found seated not far behind media seating at Reed Arena where he was Saturday for the men’s game against Alabama.

One of Pickard’s fondest memories, he said during a recent interview, was A&M’s 10-7 victory over Texas for the 1967 Southwest Conference title.

“I said one time when he was working, joking with him, that he was nine-men Pickard because if we got rid of him it would take nine people to replace him because he did so much,” Slocum said. “He had such a passion for what he did. No one has come through A&M athletics in any sport that has more of a passion for A&M athletics and wanting to win than Billy did. He would do anything to help a player a coach a team.”

In 2004, the Texas A&M Lettermen’s Association named Pickard to the organization’s Hall of Honor. He was honored in 2009 with Billy Pickard Day at Kyle Field when the Aggies faced Oklahoma State.

“I was glad they honored Billy a few years ago,” Sherrill said. “He got a good dose of the feeling of how many players loved him.”

The walkway under Wellborn from the main campus to the west campus is called Pickard Pass because he made it known to then A&M President Ray Bowen that the project was a bad idea. Pickard later admitted he was wrong and was seen regularly using the passageway to jog from Kyle Field to the west campus.

“If he didn’t agree with what you’d done he was quick to let you know, but the thing was he didn’t keep score, five minutes later it was over with.” Weir said “He just had a huge heart, a huge heart for A&M, particularly A&M athletics. He thrived in the success and was always positive even in times of defeat to coaches or players.”

Pickard mentored many current athletic trainers, managers and field staff members, including Weir, Aggie equipment manager Matt Watson, women’s basketball trainer Mike “Radar” Ricke, athletic field and maintenance manager Leo Goertz and his top assistant Craig Potts. Former trainers David Heath, Karl Kapchinski and Steve Smith also worked under Pickard.