Oklahoman Archives
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma
January 14, 209 pg 15a
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Norman Tanscript
Norman, Oklahoma
Published: January 13, 2009

OU student fatally injured in snowboard accident

A 22-year-old University of Oklahoma student who died Wednesday after a snowboarding accident in Breckenridge, Colo. is being remembered as a great friend who always had a smile for others.

Funeral services for William Norman "Billy" Khourie II will be in his home town of Elk City Friday. Services under the direction of the Whinery Savage Funeral Service will be 1:30 p.m. at Elk City First Baptist Church.

Khourie wasn't wearing a helmet when he was snowboarding Jan. 6 and suffered a massive head injury, Swedish Medical Center spokeswoman Julie Lonborg told the Associated Press.

Khourie was a senior at OU majoring in energy management. He played high school football, was a family guy and had lots of friends, said Jason Redd, who was a year ahead of Khourie in Elk City High School and then attended OU at the same time.

"He's just one of those guys that everybody liked being around," Redd said of Khourie. "He just always had a smile on his face."

Redd, who moved back to Elk City after graduating from OU last year, said lots of people are planning to attend Khourie's funeral.

"I know a lot of people who are coming in from out-of-state," he said. "... There's no doubt it'll be a large funeral." With only a couple hundred in each high school class, everyone at Elk City High School knew Khourie, Redd said, and many were shocked by the news of his death.

"It was pretty tragic, a pretty tragic event," Redd said. "It kind of shocked everyo