With a heavy heart we say goodbye to J Curtis “Hoppie” Billing, beloved son, brother, father, uncle and friend who passed away in his home Wednesday, December 19th, at the age of 55. J’s light-hearted spirit touched many lives and he was loved by all who met him. He will be remembered as a man always ready with a smile and a joke.
J was a third-generation welder by trade and jokester at heart. As the youngest of five siblings, he began his life in the Keene / Watford City area, enjoying hunting with his dad and summers at the lake. He and his family moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas, in 1977 where he set state records in track and field and trained for his career in welding. He returned to his home state of North Dakota in 2008 to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in pursuit of his career in welding.
J enjoyed listening to music, creating metal art, camping, spelunking, canoeing, and most of all entertaining his family and friends with his often self-deprecating humor. One of his family’s favorite memories of Hoppie is when he, convinced that girls can’t hit anything with a paintball gun, persuaded his niece, Melanie, to just try her best to shoot him while he ran back and forth in front of a paintball target. He took about eight shots before calling mercy, but he loved every minute of it. His fun-loving spirit will not be forgotten.
J is reunited with his father, Kenneth Raymond Billing, in heaven. He is survived by his son, Kenny Barczewski; mother, Imogene McGee; his siblings, Raymond Billing, Jackie Renbarger, Sherry Sanders and Douglas Billing; seven nieces and nephews, and three great nieces.