Ernest Albert Bilyeu, 87, passed away on Thursday, Dec.18, 2025, after a short illness. Ernest was born on Sept.14, 1938, in the hills of the Ozark Mountains. He was the second in line of six children born to Elmer and Pearl (House) Bilyeu, near the end of “The Great Depression”. Thus, he was a child of humble beginnings. His younger years were spent living on Pine Ridge, a wooded area just south of Chadwick, Mo. He graduated from Chadwick High School in 1957, where he was a member of the basketball team.
Ernest had many interests in life, but probably his most pleasurable thing to do was coon hunting. He would train his own dogs and spend many a night climbing the hills of the Ozarks in search of his prey, with his “old sidekick”, Don Brumley.
Ernest earned his living by doing construction work and building houses. He was an all-around good carpenter. On Thursday nights, one might find him at the car auctions, as he loved to find used cars to buy, trade, work on, and sell. Being a pretty good mechanic was part of his overall knowledge. There really wasn’t much he couldn’t do.
In his younger days and middle years, Ernest would meet with ‘the boys” to spend the night playing poker. One never knew whether he won or lost. He just kept it to himself.
Being an avid reader was part of Ernest’s many interests. He loved Western magazines. To him, it was a trip back in time to those thrilling days of yesteryear. When Ernest left this world for his heavenly home, he was preceded in death by his mother and father, a sister, Shirley Westfall, and a brother, John Dale. Ernest is survived by: two brothers, Don of Ozark and Gary of Sparta, one sister, Cathey Idell and husband Clyde of Ozark, a son, Wade of Springfield, and a daughter, Teresa Patterson of Woodbine, Ga., two grandchildren, several nephews, one niece, and a very dear friend, Penny.
Ernest will be remembered and missed by those who loved him and his many great stories. He truly lived a full life and just recently said, “He would do it all again, the same way”.
A graveside funeral will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 26, at Chadwick Cemetery in Chadwick, Mo. Visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 26, at Holden Cremation and Funeral Service, Sparta, before procession to the cemetery.Ernest
