Samuel J Pilkington

Funeral services for Samuel J. Pilkington, 86, of Belton will be held at 10:00 AM Friday, March 6, 2026, at the Belton Church of Christ with Tommy Bever officiating. Burial will follow at Rest Haven Cemetery.

The family will receive friends for visitation 5:00 - 7:00 PM Thursday, March 5, 2026 at Dossman Funeral Home Chapel.

Mr. Pilkington died Tuesday, March 3, 2026 in a memory care center, Mercy House in Temple.

Mr. Pilkington was born December 23, 1939, in Junction, Texas the son of Bennie and Florence (O'Rear) Pilkington. The family moved to Colorado City, Texas when he was in the second grade and graduated from Colorado High School in 1958. After graduation he spent the next 19 years working for a highway construction company running a crane and building bridges on TxDOT projects across the state except for between 1963 & 1965 when he served in the United States Army. He married Patricia Blume on January 17, 1969 in Houston. In 1971 they moved to Belton so Sam could work building the bridges on the Highway 190 project from Belton through Killeen. In August of 1977, after the bulk of highway construction in the area slowed for a time, he began Bell Contractors, Inc., a company that will celebrate 50 years next year and still carries his legacy.

He was a deacon and later elder at Belton Church of Christ for many years and dedicated a lot of time serving widows and being in charge of the facilities. As was true of everything he did, he took these Christian duties very seriously.

As his career wound down and later after retirement, he treasured spending time with family, especially his grandchildren, and traveling the country and the world with Pat. Together, they visited all 50 states, 49 in their motorhome, most of the Canadian provinces, as well as many other countries in 6 continents around the world. He also liked to ride and travel on his Harley motorcycles and loved fast, shiny cars including his fully restored black '57 Chevy Bel Air. He also enjoyed camping, hiking, and just being outside.

In addition to his love for family, he dearly loved several dogs over the years. A few of them were more well traveled than most people. He also loved his many friends and was often seen with different groups at lunch or enjoying other activities.

Mr. Pilkington was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Marvin, Lowell and Billy Joe Pilkington and sister Virgie Mosley.

Survivors include his wife Patricia (Pat) Pilkington; son Michael Pilkington and wife Laurel; daughter Sheri Kasberg and husband Tim; and six grandchildren, Bailey Kasberg, Samuel (Sammy) Pilkington, Lester Pilkington, McKinley Kasberg, Nathan Kasberg, and McCray Kasberg.

Memorials may be made to Cherokee Children's Home, P.O. Box 295, Cherokee, Texas 76832, Eastern European Missions P. O. Box 55245 Hurst Texas 76054 or the charity of your choice.