Billie Wayne Lemons
Encyclopedia
Billie Wayne Lemons was a Church of Christ
minister from Lubbock
, Texas
, who played football
for the NFL
Cleveland Browns
in 1977, when the team won six and lost eight games.
Lemons was born to Wayne H. Lemons (born 1937) and Verlene Lemons in Tyler
, the seat of Smith County
in East Texas
. He was reared in Pampa
, the seat of Gray County in the Texas Panhandle
, where he graduated in 1973 from Pampa High School. From 1973-1977, he attended Texas A&M University
in College Station
on a football scholarship
. Lemons made the second team All-Southwest Conference and was honorable mention for two years as an All-American. TAMU was Southwestern Conference champions in 1976, his senior year on the team. Thereafter, he played for a season in Cleveland. Lemons received degrees in psychology
and sociology
.
Lemons proclaimed his conversion to Jesus Christ at the age of eight, and he was called to the ministry in 1972, while he was still in high school. He was also a certified paraprofessional while working in the schools in Pampa and Borger
with physical and mentally handicapped children who have violent tendencies. At TAMU, he was active in "Aggies for Christ" and went on mission trips to Hawaii
, Thailand
, and Japan
.
From 1978-1981, Lemons attended Sunset International Bible Institute
in Lubbock under minister Cline Paden
. At the time of his death, Lemons had been in ministry for thirty-three years and was the pulpit minister and evangelist
at the 20th and Birch Church of Christ in Lubbock. His father, Wayne, has been preaching since 1961 and is based at Plainview
, the seat of Hale County
north of Lubbock. His brother, Frankie L. Lemons, has been in the ministry for thirteen years. His widow
, Janet Conaway Lemons, is a certified pharmacy technician who holds a bachelor's degree
in social work
. She is employed at the Children's Home in Lubbock, where she is a recruiter of foster care
and adoption
.
Lemons also addressed civic groups. In 2006, he keynoted the Martin Luther King ceremony at South Plains College
in Levelland
, the seat of Hockley County west of Lubbock. Lemons stressed that King did not want people to be judged by their looks, backgrounds, or wealth, but by the content of their character.
Lemons had two sons, Devin (and wife Nicole) and Kolin, who was adopted after birth in 2005. At the time of his passing, the Lemonses had been since 2006 the house parents of fourteen children in a therapeutic cottage. Lemons was involved in a ministry to mentor and teach parenting skills to teenage mothers. In addition to his wife, sons, brother, and parents, Lemons was survived by a daughter; two grandsons, Gabriel and Christopher Lemons, and his father and mother-in-law, Jessie, Sr., and Dorothy Conaway. Services were held on October 17, 2008, at Broadway Church of Christ in downtown Lubbock. Interment was at the City of Lubbock Cemetery.
Church of Christ
Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone, and seek to be New Testament congregations as originally established by the authority of Christ. Historically,...
minister from Lubbock
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, who played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
for the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in 1977, when the team won six and lost eight games.
Lemons was born to Wayne H. Lemons (born 1937) and Verlene Lemons in Tyler
Tyler, Texas
Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, the seat of Smith County
Smith County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 174,706 people, 65,692 households, and 46,904 families residing in the county. The population density was 188 people per square mile . There were 71,701 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...
in East Texas
East Texas
East Texas is a distinct geographic and ecological area in the U.S. state of Texas.According to the Handbook of Texas, the East Texas area "may be separated from the rest of Texas roughly by a line extending from the Red River in north central Lamar County southwestward to east central Limestone...
. He was reared in Pampa
Pampa, Texas
Pampa is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,887 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gray County.Pampa is the principal city of the Pampa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Gray and Roberts counties....
, the seat of Gray County in the Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
, where he graduated in 1973 from Pampa High School. From 1973-1977, he attended Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
in College Station
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley. The city is located within the most populated region of Texas, near three of the 10 largest cities in the United States - Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio...
on a football scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
. Lemons made the second team All-Southwest Conference and was honorable mention for two years as an All-American. TAMU was Southwestern Conference champions in 1976, his senior year on the team. Thereafter, he played for a season in Cleveland. Lemons received degrees in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
and sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
.
Lemons proclaimed his conversion to Jesus Christ at the age of eight, and he was called to the ministry in 1972, while he was still in high school. He was also a certified paraprofessional while working in the schools in Pampa and Borger
Borger, Texas
Borger is the largest city in Hutchinson County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,302 at the 2000 census. Borger is named for businessman Asa Philip "Ace" Borger, who also established the Hutchinson County seat of Stinnett and several other small towns in Texas and Oklahoma.- History...
with physical and mentally handicapped children who have violent tendencies. At TAMU, he was active in "Aggies for Christ" and went on mission trips to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
From 1978-1981, Lemons attended Sunset International Bible Institute
Sunset International Bible Institute
Sunset International Bible Institute is a Churches of Christ-affiliated institution of higher education in Lubbock, Texas. It was established in 1962 by Cline Rex Paden , a native of Hunt County, upon his return to Lubbock from an extended missionary trip to Italy...
in Lubbock under minister Cline Paden
Cline Paden
Cline Rex Paden was a prominent Churches of Christ evangelist and missionary who, in 1962, founded what became the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, Texas...
. At the time of his death, Lemons had been in ministry for thirty-three years and was the pulpit minister and evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
at the 20th and Birch Church of Christ in Lubbock. His father, Wayne, has been preaching since 1961 and is based at Plainview
Plainview, Texas
Plainview is a city in and the county seat of Hale County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,336 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Plainview is located at ....
, the seat of Hale County
Hale County, Texas
Hale County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 36,602. It was organized in 1888, and is named for Lt. John C. Hale, a hero of the Battle of San Jacinto. The seat of the county is Plainview. It is home of the noted former Hale County Judge, Judge Bill...
north of Lubbock. His brother, Frankie L. Lemons, has been in the ministry for thirteen years. His widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
, Janet Conaway Lemons, is a certified pharmacy technician who holds a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
. She is employed at the Children's Home in Lubbock, where she is a recruiter of foster care
Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in the private home of a state certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent"....
and adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
.
Lemons also addressed civic groups. In 2006, he keynoted the Martin Luther King ceremony at South Plains College
South Plains College
South Plains College is a community college located in Levelland, Texas. It operates satellite branches in Plainview and at the Reese Technology Center, formerly Reese Air Force Base, in Lubbock. SPC also has many classes in the Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center in Lubbock, as part of a...
in Levelland
Levelland, Texas
Levelland is a city in Hockley County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 13,542. It is the county seat of Hockley County. It is located on the Llano Estacado, west of Lubbock. Major industries include cotton farming and petroleum production...
, the seat of Hockley County west of Lubbock. Lemons stressed that King did not want people to be judged by their looks, backgrounds, or wealth, but by the content of their character.
Lemons had two sons, Devin (and wife Nicole) and Kolin, who was adopted after birth in 2005. At the time of his passing, the Lemonses had been since 2006 the house parents of fourteen children in a therapeutic cottage. Lemons was involved in a ministry to mentor and teach parenting skills to teenage mothers. In addition to his wife, sons, brother, and parents, Lemons was survived by a daughter; two grandsons, Gabriel and Christopher Lemons, and his father and mother-in-law, Jessie, Sr., and Dorothy Conaway. Services were held on October 17, 2008, at Broadway Church of Christ in downtown Lubbock. Interment was at the City of Lubbock Cemetery.