William Thomas Burriss, Jr.

William T (Billy) Burriss, Jr. was born on September 11, 1964, at Freemen's Hospital (now Howard University Hospital) in Washington, D.C., to the late William T Burriss, Sr. and Alise Burriss. He departed this life at his home in Silver Spring, MD on April 25, 2024.

Billy at birth was born with a brain injury. He was diagnosed by several hospitals, Georgetown Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital and National Institute of Health (NIH). It was NIH, who provided his mother with the cause for the injury to Billy's brain.

At the age of three years old, Billy was in a nursery school for the Intellectual Disability Citizens in Montgomery County, MD. At six years old, Billy went to live in the Great Oaks, a home for those who had intellectual and developmental disabilities. At age twelve years old, he went to live in a group home called Seek Employment Empowerment Community (SEEC), where he lived with one other resident and three staff members who provided them with 24 hours care. Billy was bought home every weekend and holidays and spent quality time with his family, and his mother would take him to church with her. He loved going to church. When no one else in church would say or do anything, Billy would stand up, clap his hands and say Amen. (He would praise God in his own way.)

Billy loved music. He especially loved listening to folksinger, Joan Baez. He would sit at the foot of his bed and sing and rock his body to the music. Billy would try to change the CDs on the CD player by himself: His mother stated, "I know I bought him about three CD players".

One time when the late Reverend James Prather was baptizing candidates at First Baptist Church in Kensington, MD, Billy jumped in the water with his clothes on. Reverend Prather said, "Let him Be". Billy was baptized on February 11, 1976.

Due to Billy's brain injury, his vocabulary and ability to communicate was limited, but some of his favorite sayings were: "Want some coffee, want some tea, want some milk, want some cake and want a shake." (He was referring to a hand shake). When Billy would come home, he would put hunks of food in his mouth (which he wouldn't chew) and his mother would tell him to slow down. He would get choked and then say, "Get Choked".

As his mother was getting older, she didn't bring Billy home anymore, but she would visit him at the group home on his birthday and holidays. She would also call to see how he was doing and when the staff would give him the phone, all he would say was "A Hee" and then give the phone right back to the staff He would call his mother "Lise", which he had heard his dad call her, but he knew that she was his mom. His mom would say "That's my Billy and I love you".

Billy was preceded in death by his father, William T. Burriss, Sr., grandparents and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He leaves to cherish his memory, his mother: Alise Burriss, sister: Virginia (Darrell) Watson, nieces: Shawnte' Watson and Kimberly Annalise Marson, nephew: Darrell Watson, Jr., five great nieces/nephews, a special cousin: Kimberly Holland, and many other family members and friends.

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