William Wade (Billy Wade) Lovette, Sr. of McQueeney, Texas died Monday, May 7 at the age of 80. Billy Wade was part of our countries foundation in the poultry industry. He started work with his families business in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, then onto Holly Farms when it was created in 1955.

As a natural leader in 1967 he went on to manage the Holly Farms plant’s in Monroe, North Carolina; Center, Texas; Seguin, Texas; and Gonzalez, Texas from 1970 until retirement in 2003. He served on the Texas Poultry Federation Board as President and was the recipient of the Golden Feather Award in 1998 plus many more awards and recognitions in the poultry industry.

He is survived by his wife Carol Bumgarner Lovette, Son Bill Lovette Jr and wife Carolyn Jones Lovette, granddaughter, Jennifer Lovette all of Charlotte, North Carolina, grandson, Don Lovette and wife Keitha of Timnath, CO, great grandchildren, Madison, Jackson and Hudson Lovette; Two brothers, Pete Lovette and Blake Lovette of North Wilkesboro, NC; Sister-in-law Claudine Lovette and brother-in-law Frank Rhodes of North Wilkesboro, NC, Sister-in-law Betsy Lovette of Cary, NC; oldest niece, Camille Lovette Eller and husband Robert Eller. Billy Wade was blessed with a large family that included many more nieces, nephews and cousins that he truly loved.

He is preceded in death by an infant daughter; parents C.O. and Ruth Lovette; brothers, Fred Lovette, Rex Lovette, Gene Allen Lovette and sister Bonnie L. Rhodes.

Billy Wade and his beloved wife Carol of 62 years were high school sweethearts. After moving to McQueeney to manage the Holly Farms Complex, they settled on Treasure Island and were very involved in the Lake McQueeney community. He and Carol loved traveling in the United States and abroad, they took several trips to the Carolina’s each year. He was also a member of The First United Methodist Church in Seguin, TX.

NASCAR racing was one of his loves and still enjoyed the races until May 6, 2018 the day before his death. He enjoyed watching these races with his dog Bailey. In the early years of NASCAR, he was a member of the Holly Farms Racing team and worked the pits for the car #3 Junior Johnson. You could always find Billy during NASCAR season watching every race. He loved to talk about all his fond memories and adventures during the early NASCAR years.

He was an avid hunter. His hunts included Wyoming, Montana, Colorado but his favorite was Texas whitetail deer hunting. After retiring from work and hunting he spent a lot of time on his fishing dock and off shore fishing. He was sharp and witty due to love of reading, his favorite topics were U.S. History, especially WW II.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at First United Methodist Church in Seguin from 5 to 7 p.m. Funeral services and interment will be held at a later date in North Carolina. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church of Seguin, 710 N. Austin, Texas, 78155.