Billy "Bob" Crain

Billy “Bob” Crain, 85, of Amarillo, TX passed away on Monday, November 24, 2025.

The funeral service will be at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at Boxwell Brothers Ivy Chapel, 2800 Paramount Blvd. Burial will follow at 2:00 p.m. at Tell City Cemetery in Tell, TX.

Bob was born in Tell, TX on November 29, 1939, to Claude Lee and Birdie Viola (Bowman) Crain.

Since he was a little boy, he worked alongside his dad. They pulled cotton on the Crain land in Tell. He worked those fields until he started playing football at Childress High School.

He left Tell and moved to Amarillo when he started working at Santa Fe Railroad in 1956. He started as a switchman and worked his way up to conductor until he retired in 1987.

He married the love of his life, Cheryl Crain, on November 29, 1985. He thought getting married on his birthday would help him not forget their anniversary. Well, that plan didn’t work out for him. He completely forgot their anniversary the first two years and many more over the next 40 years. One year when he forgot, he panicked and began digging through all the cabinets and drawers in the house. Finally, finding a card, thinking he was in the clear only to realize it was a card that had already been written in and signed. None of that deterred him, he opened it up, marked out the previous note, wrote his own message, signed it and gave it to his lovely wife. He was quite proud of himself for that one.

After several years of retirement, his loving wife decided to change things up a bit. She went to the guard shack at Lake Tanglewood, picked up, filled out and returned a job application. Bob wasn’t even aware he was looking for a job so imagine his surprise when he got the job. He was a gate guard for over 10 years. He gave candy to the children and sass to the adults. He absolutely loved that job, it was his favorite job. He looked forward to going to work every day.

Bob will be remembered for his great love and mischievous spirit like he when he released several chickens into the hallways at Childress High School as his senior prank. He loved scaring people. Nothing pleased him more than standing outside a closed door and banging loud and hard on the door. It made him laugh so hard if he got to hear you jump and scream. But his greatest achievement was aggravating his wife. His eyes would glisten with joy as he did it and walk away with a bounce in his step. He absolutely loved spending time with his grandkids. It was not beyond him to break a few rules, if it made his grandkids laugh and have a good time like trespassing on someone’s property to help his grandson catch a tarantula or help him sneak a snake onto a plane. He really enjoyed watching his grandchildren play sports, especially basketball. But over the last few months, it was knowing he could go watch his granddaughter play basketball that got him through some rough days. He was still going and cheering her on until last week. He loved playing “classroom’ with his granddaughters when they were little. Apparently, he couldn’t follow the rules, so they put him in timeout a lot and proceeded to call their MawMaw at work to tell on their grampa. He was the greatest grampa. He loved to spoil them and give them all his love and attention.

Bob was a Cowboy fan through and through. He always said, “If you don’t like the Cowboys, you must be a communist.” If you wanted to have a good time, just watch Bob while he watched the Boys play. He was better than any half time show. He yelled, kicked his feet, threw his arms up, jumped out of his recliner while cussing at the refs for their stupid calls. Most of the time, it was not suitable for children to hear.

Bob was quite the storyteller. His “Crain Boys” stories were good, but his “Railroad” stories were the best. He could sit for hours telling you about things he has seen, experienced or done himself. A lot of his stories made you question if our judicial systems were even in effect at that time.

Bob was an amazing husband, a wonderful dad, and a fantastic grampa. He loved with all his heart and would give you his shirt off his back. After spending time with him, you always left feeling better about yourself.

He will forever be missed and never forgotten.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Claude Lee and Birdie Crain; his brother, SB Crain; his sisters, Mary Beth Doss, Maxine Atkinson, Fern Powers and Claudine Perry; and his daughter, Cindy Johnson.

Survivors include his wife Cheryl Crain, of Amarillo, TX; his sister, Sandy Aultman and husband Donnie of Dallas, TX; his daughters, Stephanie Gaines and husband David of Amarillo, TX; Tracie Maxey and husband John of Roswell, NM; Christie Jones and husband Glen of Amarillo, TX; and Shelly Sharon and husband Kerry of Amarillo, TX; his son, Montana Johnson of Amarillo, TX; his grandkids, Scott Gaines and Ashley; Marcie Browning and Chris; Cole, Jake, Rhet and Blake Maxey; Lanie Jones; Mallorie Backus and Blake; Karlie Sale and Robert; Pru (Makinzie Jones) and Kameron; Scooter (Tracie Smith) and Bailee; Scud (Cole Atwood) and Miranda; Mackenzie Sharon; Rodney Sharon; Sydney Muccitelli and Derek; and Christina Johnson; his great-grandkids, Breckyn, Sidney and Case Gaines; Grant, Libby, and Isaiah Browning; Owen and Henry Backus; Maddox and Knox Sale; Marlee Gerber; Laken, Bentleigh and Paiden Jones; and Waylan and Jasper Brown; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.