Funeral Mass for Billy Waldo Melton will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 8, 2017, at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 12 SW 7 ^th Street, Lawton, with Rev. Brian Buettner, Pastor officiating.

A rosary will be held at 5:30 p.m. Friday, July 7 followed by a Cowboy Wake Gathering at 6:00 p.m. in the Becker-Rabon Funeral Home Chapel.

Burial will be in Highland Cemetery.

Billy Waldo Melton went to be with the Lord on Monday afternoon, July 3, 2017 at his farm east of Lawton. He fought a long battle with Alzheimer's the last several years. But now he is riding high in heaven over green pastures where there is no pain or suffering.

Billy was born March 15, 1959 in Lawton, OK to Bill Waldon and Mary Frances (Kennard) Melton. He attended John Adams Elementary, Tomlinson Junior High, and graduated from Lawton High School in 1977 where he played football, ran cross country and was active in FFA. During his high school years Bill was known for his one ton truck, country boy, always at the farm, bull riding thus coined the name "Wild Bill".  He later attended Cameron University.

Billy met his soul mate and love of his life, Angela Berntsen, at a Billy Arnold dance.  They were married in El Reno, OK on August 14, 1982 and resided at the farm east of Lawton where Billy lived after graduating.  Though he was raised in town, he was an authentic cowboy with his own style and sense of humor and enjoyed farming and ranching.  He loved western swing, true country music, cowboy poetry, ranch roundups, rodeos, cattle drives, dancing and the cowboy way of life.  The country was where he belonged among God's creations enjoying sunrises, sunsets, the moon - especially the full moon, stars, clouds, hills, mountains, the great outdoors and the wide open spaces.  He had a natural sense when it came to animals. (animal whisperer).  After being diagnosed with Alzheimer's he went dancing twice a week, those were some of the best times.  He lived by the cowboy code – A cowboy's handshake is his word… his bond.

Billy was a craftsman of many skills – construction carpenter, millwright, mechanic, welder, cowboy, farmer, and rancher. He worked for BW Melton Construction since junior high school as a laborer and foreman and as a glazier at AAA Glass shop, family businesses.  A few of the many commercial buildings in Lawton he constructed are Becker Funeral Home addition, LPS Multi Media Center, several Lawton Fire Stations, St John Lutheran Church.  For several years Billy went on custom harvest with Clyde and Juanita O'Mary.  In 1999 he began working as a millwright over 11 years for electrical generator plants, mainly Siemens Westinghouse, in Texas, California, Washington, Oklahoma, and Arizona.  Known to them as "Cowboy Bill." Billy was a member of the Lawton Rangers.

Survivors include his wife Angela; his parents Bill and Mary Melton; his sons: Buck Melton and wife Kristin, Lawton and Cody Melton and wife Lacee, of Checotah, OK; four grandchildren: Ryder and Rydge Claborn, Ledgin and Luxton Melton; his sister April Bain (Donnie), Lawton; his brother, Tim Melton (Royalin), Lawton; his brother-in-law Randy Upton; his sisters-in-law Carolyn Keyes (Mark), Marilyn Prophet (Gary), Phyllis Kolar (Jim), Helena Berntsen, Regina Carel (Ken), his brothers-in-law Patrick, Michael and Raymond Berntsen; and numerous nieces, nephews, and other loving family members and friends.  Billy was preceded in death by his grandparents, Buster and Dorothy Melton and James Hogg and Grace Kennard; his sister Vikki Upton; his in-laws, George and Barbara Berntsen;

Special thanks to John Cannon (caregiver) for ridin' the range with Bill and providing awesome care and support for the past four years.

Memorial contributions may be made to: Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church Roof Fund; Lawton Rangers Scholarship Fund or the Alzheimer's Association.  Should you desire to send a plant the family is requesting pampas grass, dwarf yaupon holly shrub, crepe myrtle, etc. for a memorial garden on the farm.