NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) – Whether you were stopping by for a burger or sitting down for a chat, many people have a Billy Huddleston, or “Mr. B”, memory to share.
“We were great friends, and we could talk about any and everything. We listened to one another and we always had something great to say,” longtime Butcher Boys Smokehouse customer Janice Chimney said.
Huddleston and his family moved to Nacogdoches 56 years ago. Then in 1977, he and his wife Catherine opened a meat market. At the time, their daughter, Lori Huddleston was seven years old.
“It was a running joke that when I was tall enough to see over the meat case then I could get a paycheck. I still can’t see over the meat case,” Huddleston said.
They eventually added on the restaurant. The family grew up in the business. It was also where Huddleston’s granddaughter Macy Smith learned the ropes. For the past 13 years she has handled the operation.
“I was going to school for psychology and it’s really funny to me that I ended up running Butcher Boys,” Smith said.
She said when her grandfather wasn’t with her grandmother, he was at the restaurant.
“He was here with me getting into mischief. We would try different recipes. We just had a good time,” Smith said.
When he wasn’t frying food, you could find him with a fishing rod.
“The man would fish in a puddle,” Huddleston said.
He had recently celebrated his 80th birthday at Butcher Boys. He died on June 30.
From his family and friends to people he’d only met once, many agree that Huddleston has left a lasting legacy on the Nacogdoches community.
“I hope people don’t think he’s gone I can’t go back there. I hope people think he’s gone, and I want to spend time in the place that he built,” Smith said.
Huddleston’s visitation is Wednesday at Cason Monk Funeral Home in Nacogdoches from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The funeral is Thursday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Nacogdoches, starting at 11 a.m.
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