Bury Me In Llano Cemetery With These Famous People
Amarillo isn't exactly a hotbed for celebrities. Whether it be to visit, live here, or be from here. We just don't have a rich history of celebs in the city.
However, it does seem to be a place where some celebrities are laid to rest and spend eternity in the city.
One of the more famous places in Amarillo is Llano Cemetery, and that's because we have several famous figures that are buried there. Let's take a look at who's out there.
TOL AVERY
Avery was an actor who was in 140 different feature films during his time on the big screen and silver screen. He played several different types of roles and showed versatility which kept him in Hollywood for quite a while. He was even a licensed real estate agent while working in Hollywood. Avery passed away unexpectedly of a heart attack one day shy of his 58th birthday.
THOMAS ELBERT CREEK
Creek wasn't famous for flashy reasons like Avery. Creek was a member of the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. At just 18 years old, he went off to fight for our country. The Marines came under heavy fire, and Creek put himself in a fighting position. At one point, Creek darted across the enemy fire and was severely wounded. He recognized he was in trouble, so he heroically rolled on top of a grenade and saved five of his fellow Marines giving the ultimate sacrifice, his life. Creek was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
TERRY STAFFORD
Stafford was born in Oklahoma, but grew up here in Amarillo. Terry landed himself a big hit song back in 1964 called "Suspicion". The song was actually originally recorded by none other than Elvis Presley, but Stafford got to reap the rewards of the tune. It raced all the way into the top 10 of the charts and would be his only big hit. He managed to land a top 30 hit with "I'll Touch A Star". However, his true claim to unsung fame is as the mastermind who penned "Amarillo By Morning", later made into a smash hit by George Strait. Once he left the music industry, he turned his eyes to Hollywood appearing in "Wild Wheels" but he never got away from his music roots as he continued writing music. He passed away in 1996 due to liver problems.
BILLY CROSS
Cross was a football star in Canadian football star back in the 1940s. He attended West Texas A&M where he played football for them, and finished his playing career in stints with the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL and Toronto Argonauts of the CFL. Cross was a halfback that set a team record at WT with 2,474 yards gained with the college. After his retirement from football, he went on to become a teacher. He was honored by West Texas A&M back in 1988 with induction into their Hall of Champions.
RICK HUSBAND
We've come to the most familiar name on the list, and that's because our airport is named after him. Rick Husband was a Colonel in the Air Force and was selected by NASA to be an astronaut in 1994. He served as the flight commander on the Columbia Shuttle. It was on February 1st, 2003 when things went wrong. Minutes after takeoff, mission control lost contact with the shuttle. They had no communication with it and couldn't see it on radar. It was only a short time later that they confirmed that Columbia had exploded over east Texas and there were no survivors. They were embarking on a 16-day scientific mission.