Hazel Billie Cullimore
Hazel “Billie” Cullimore, age 93, of Blackfoot, Idaho, passed away peacefully on August 30, 2021 in the comforting home of Sheila and Rick Trolson, her youngest daughter and son-in-law. Billie was born on November 30, 1927 in South Salt Lake to mother Mabel Armstrong Brown and father Thomas WIlliam Brown. They had 10 children of which she was the youngest with four brothers and five sisters.
Billie enjoyed a multitude of activities, both professionally and in the community. She was President of the Liberty Riders Ladies Equestrian Drill team and she trained and rode her own saddle horse. She served two years as President of The American Business Women's Association where she was a Delegate to the National Convention in New Orleans. She served as Bulletin Editor for two years and Boss Night Chairperson for eight years. In 1977, she was voted Woman of the Year.
In Blackfoot, where she was a resident for the past thirty years, she served as President of the
Ladies Auxiliary of the fraternal order of Eagles. She was President of the Mayor's Committee for two terms and Second Vice President of the Bingham County Historical Society. She served as Director of the Bingham Historical Museum in Blackfoot. She was a member of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, where she served for six years as the Captain of the Bingham First Camp.
In 1998 she received the “8 who make a difference” award and in 1999 she was given the “Outstanding Citizen” award from the Blackfoot Jaycees for her efforts to get a wheelchair lift installed in the civic auditorium in Blackfoot. She was honored as “Advocate Extraordinaire” from the Syringa Chalet Nursing Facility in Blackfoot.
Her talent showed also in poetry where she was a Distinguished member of The International Society of Poets, Famous Poets Society and a Premier member of Poet Nation. She reveled in attending poetry conventions and received multiple awards, including the Golden Poet Award and Editor's Choice Award. She also won Third Place in a National Poetry Contest for her poem, Time Looking Back. She published her own book of poetry named “Poems By Hazel Billie Cullimore”.
She created her own brand called “Billie’s Originals”. She made one of a kind square dance dresses and custom outfits, including a show outfit for a country singer to wear to the White House in Washington D.C. when he sang for President Jimmy Carter. She proudly designed and created a Bicentennial Square Dance Dress that is on display in the Utah Historical Museum in Salt Lake City. This brand carried on to include her love of painting and she enjoyed sharing her skills in her own Art Studio in Blackfoot where she got creative with any number of media including antiques, saws of any size, mailboxes, milk jugs, shovels and also canvas, or anything you would bring her. Her work can be found around the world. She received many awards for her art including blue ribbons and best of show at the county fair.
She was born with an infinite love of animals and would be the first to save a stray. Right up until the end she could tell you the name of a childhood pet in a picture. She cared deeply for and enjoyed a large variety and number of animals.
Billie was a member of the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, where she served many callings, including teacher, cub scout den mother and Junior Sunday School chorister. She loved to sing and always had a song for every occasion.
Her life motto: “Keep God in your life, never lose faith, and do the best you can with what you have to do with.”
She is preceded in death by her spouses, her eldest son, Norman Michael Atkinson and her siblings; all are in Heaven to welcome her home. She is survived by her other five children; Shelley Marie Jacobs (Jim), Lawrance Bradley “Brad”
Bakelar (Marty), William Tracey” Trace” Bakelar (Shellie), Mark Ebban “Chip” Aston, and Sheila Collette Trolson (Rick) with 21 grandchildren and many great and great, great grandchildren who will miss her dearly.
Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 12:00 Noon at Starks Funeral Parlor, 3651 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, where a viewing will begin at 10:30 AM. Interment will follow at Valley View Cemetery, 4335 West 4100 South West Valley City.