David Bruce Billington passed on to be with his savior on July 26, 2024 at his home in Jacket, Missouri following a lengthy illness.

He was born on March 20, 1946 in Oildale, Calif. to the late Carl Billington and Lorene (Phillips) Billington. He was raised in Bakersfield and then in the Los Angeles area, where he attended high school. David spent two decades working for Global Marine Oil as an oil exploration driller, with one of the drills he operated on the Glomar Challenger exploration ship now being on display in the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum in Washington, DC. During his time with Global Marine he traveled to and worked in dozens of countries and spent time living in Peru, Columbia, Spain's Canary Islands and Ireland. He later worked as a consultant for directional drilling for Western Well Tool.

As a child growing up in central and southern California, David dreamed of one day owning a farm, and in April 1975 he and his family moved from Ireland to the farm on Big Sugar Creek in Jacket where he would spend the rest of his life. An extremely hard and dedicated worker, at different times he raised beef cattle, raised broiler hens for Hudson Foods and later Simmons, and operated a Grade A dairy on the farm, while also finding time to serve on the board of Barry County Farm Bureau. He also raised his four sons of the farm, where he taught them the value of hard work and inspired in them an enduring work ethic.

He was united in marriage to Michelle Vernon on November 28, 1991 at the farm in Jacket, where she worked with him to cultivate a large vegetable garden every year and tend to the livestock.

Shortly after moving to Jacket, David began attending the former Sugar Creek Baptist Church, where he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and was baptized in the waters of Big Sugar Creek on a cold winter day. He and Michelle later joined Prairie Hill Baptist Church.

In his limited spare time, David enjoyed deer hunting, classic cars (especially those from the 1950s), collecting antiques, spending time at the creek, looking for arrowheads, and was an avid reader.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his oldest son, John Wesley Billington, and his sister Linda Billington. Survivors include his wife, Michelle, of the home; sons: Mike (Starla) of Pea Ridge, Steve (Mary) of Galena, Ks., and Jeff (Caio) of Rockville, Md.; brother Mark (Marty) Billington of Sierra Madre, Calif.; sister Leslie (Jesse) Morris of Chico, Calif.; brother-in-law Kelly (Nancy) Vernon of Huntsville, AR; sisters-in-law Sharon Rice of Colorado Springs, CO, Lynn Vernon of Aberdeen, NC, and Irene Vernon of Nagsinamo, Philippines; five granddaughters; and nine great grandchildren.

The services will take place on August 1st at Prairie Hill Baptist Church in Washburn with the Rev. Jerry Williams presiding. Visitation will start at 10 a.m. at the church followed by the service at 11 a.m. Interment will follow at Roller Cemetery.

Online condolences may be made at siscofuneralhome.net