Billie W. Cleveland

Billie Williams Cleveland, 93, died at home on August 8, 2025. Billie was the youngest of 6 children, born to Clarence and Willie Williams on December 18th, 1931 in Bluffton, Georgia. She grew up on the farm where she helped her father and learned early that how one treated other people mattered. She had one brother, Eugene “Bubba” Williams. She and her four sisters – Frances, Jeannette, Ruth, and Hazel – became affectionately known as “The Sisters” and were close all their lives. Billie graduated from Bluffton High School at age 16 and was salutatorian. She attended Andrew College in Cuthbert, Georgia. She graduated from Andrew College with a degree in Early Childhood Development and was voted Most Athletic on the basketball team. She was certified in Elementary Education at what is now Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia, to become a teacher. She taught in Morgan, Georgia and Blakely, Georgia. On December 21st, 1952, she married the love of her life, Arthur “Jinks” Cleveland, in her home, later known as The Bluffton House. In 1956, Billie and Jinks moved to the big city of Tallahassee. While Jinks worked at Keenan Auto Parts, Billie joined Doris Whiddon, Doris Brown, Shirley Nelson, and Sue Hipps teaching at the new nursery school at East Hill Baptist Church. She was later a classroom assistant at Leon High School and Lively Technical College. She was an active member of East Hill Baptist Church where she and Jinks raised their three children: Art Cleveland, Brett Cleveland, and, much later, Caren Cleveland Odom. Their home was one of love and laughter, filled with great food, warmth, and friendship. The Cleveland home was a place to gather. Together, Jinks and Billie taught their children the importance of community. Billie welcomed people in with her warmth, her wit, and her poundcake. As a grandmother, she showed up to every event, every recital and concert, and spent every holiday and possible moment with her family and close friends. Born a week before Christmas, she loved Christmas and decorating for the holidays. She was an excellent antique shopper, had an eye for what is good, and always enjoyed taking her granddaughters on “Granny Days” which always involved a visit to Whataburger and a sweet treat. Billie was a kind woman, who loved all, but she didn’t suffer fools lightly. She exuded strength, confidence, and kindness, a woman who knew who she was. She enjoyed music and was an excellent hula-hooper, even into her 80s. Her phrases of wisdom, her lessons of community, and her wit and humor lives on in the legacy of her children and grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Jinks Cleveland; her son, Art Cleveland; and her son-in-law, Shawn Odom. She is survived by her son, Brett Cleveland (wife Debbie Cleveland) of Tampa; daughter Caren Cleveland Odom of Monroe, GA; daughter-in-law Peggy Wright-Cleveland of Tallahassee; her 7 granddaughters, Anna Cleveland (husband Jacob Kline), Lillian Beychok (husband Jacob Beychok), Eleanor Cleveland, Abigail Cleveland, Eliza Odom, Sloane Odom, and Jenny Cutlip (husband Joe Cutlip); her 1 grandson, Josh Allen (wife Kristin Allen); and her great-grandchildren, Jocelyn Beychok (parents Lillian and Jacob Beychok), Zoe Allen, Faith Allen, Gianna Labbate, Joseph Labbate and Andre Sweeney (parents Josh and Kristin Allen). She is also loved by many nieces and nephews. As Granny always said, “well that’s all I know” and “I’m just tellin’ ya.” The family would like to thank Hopewell and Billie’s primary caretakers Key Allen, Yolanda Ford, Anissa Henry, LeeAnn Culbreth Sherlock, and Teresa Cleveland Seymoe Paliwoda (her niece) for all their help, laughter, and good care. The memorial service will be Saturday, August 16th at 2pm at East Hill Baptist Church, 912 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, Florida, with a reception following. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be given to East Hill Baptist Church. Susie Mozolic of Bevis Funeral Home is assisting the Cleveland family with their arrangements. (www.bevisfh.com or 850-385-2193)

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Billie W. Cleveland

December 18, 1931 - August 8, 2025